Forgotten Blood
by secretshadow90
Summary: The Pharaoh defeated the evil in his land. That wasn't the whole story. It's part of something much bigger. Know the truth. Act 1 of Blood Trilogy. Karim and OC centric. M to be safe. R&R please. I'm terrible at summarizing this. Read my profile for more.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's a couple quick notes about this. This has honestly been in the working for years. Yes, years. And it sadly started out as a huge crossover (pleas picture a little ten year old me obsessed with Pokemon, Digimon, Card Captors and Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs all at the same time and you'll see the mayhem). But the kinks have been wrinkled out, a lot has changed and now it's only Yu-Gi-Oh with a dash of Final Fantasy. And it's hardly noticeable. Please enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. (Actually I did make up quite a few characters in this chapter but I'm keeping the lawyers away :P)

~About 18 years ago~

Leon Bakura waited patiently in the hospital lobby. He kept saying a couple prayers for his wife. She was having quadruplets and this was life threatening. It wouldn't be so life threatening if Leon and Sakura were human. This Bakura family was Duel Monster, as they are now called. No Duel Monster had ever delivered quadruplets where all the babies and the mother survived, at least within memory. Perhaps it had happened, but that would have been ages ago.

The young intern came out. Leon looked into ice blue eyes behind square glasses. The intern was smiling. "Please come in. Your wife and sons are waiting." Leon felt a wave of relief as he entered.

Sakura was in the bed, tired and sweaty, but smiling. Leon went over to her immediately. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Tired and a little in pain, but fine. Oh Leon, go look at the four they're beautiful."

Leon walked over to four tiny beds. He smiled down upon them. Four sons with curiously white hair. He looked at the names: Ryou, Angelus, Haku and Lance.

Leon looked up as the doctor came in holding a piece of paper. "Mr. and Mrs. Bakura, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"What is it?" Sakura asked frightened.

"Two of the babies, Haku and Ryou, have the Black Constricter." The intern's jaw dropped, 'The only terminal disease reserved for our kind affecting children? How?'

Leon gasped "Is it affecting them now? How long do they have?"

"No, it's not affecting them now, but we detected it in their blood. Mrs. Bakura, I believe you said there was a history in it in your family."

She nodded "Yes, the damn thing strangled my father and his brother to death. But that affected them later in life. Their lungs were functioning perfectly until it reared it's ugly head."

"Haku and Ryou will both get it later in life, Haku later than Ryou. Just be aware and watch for symptoms." Sakura nodded at the doctor's orders.

A nurse entered the room, "You and the little ones have visitors." she chirped happily. Two children almost ran in. The first was eight-year old Angel, the eldest child, and his younger brother Sora, age five. Leon grinned at his two sons and led the over to their younger brothers.

An Egyptian man and a pale, blond woman entered. His jade eyes were warm as they regarded the room. The woman went over to Sakura, her blue eyes an ocean of emotion. She walked slow as her stomach was also large with child.

Sakura smiled "Get tired of watching them? Thank you, by the way, for everything, Catalina."

"It's no problem, Sakura. Besides, Antonio chased them." Catalina had traces of a European accent, with hints of some American tones.

"Do you ever call your husband Antony?"

"No, Antonio is much better, it suits him."

"Your child is due soon right?"

"Yes. Speaking of children, I can't wait to see all six of them in one house. It'll be a riot."

Sakura's face fell. Six children. Six defenseless children. In one spot. Hunters tracked children to capture them early and mold them to their will. They could also get the adults. Trapping each individual in a different card, separating them until some magic user freed them. No, the risk was too high. She couldn't take six home. Maybe four. But what could she do? 'Think Sakura, you're a Magician's Valkyrie, you must have something up your sleeve.' Then it hit her

"Leon," Sakura called to her husband. Leon walked over and sat beside

"What is it darling?"

"We can't take them all home. It's too dangerous."

Leon eyes cast downward "I was thinking that as well."

"I was thinking of sending two back in time, then on dates we decide on, they will return when they're older and stronger."

Catalina snorted, "That sounds miserable, but I suppose it's your best option since you refuse to move onto the Sanctuary with me and Antonio."

Leon turned to her " It's no offense to you or him. My bloodline has instilled a sense of pride in me that refuses to relent. Please, understand defending me and my family is my duty and I refuse to put that on my friends."

"Suit yourself, you stubborn man." Antonio said before his wife could retort. Antonio spoke Japanese nearly perfectly, as he was half Japanese. His Egyptian descent did give him a slight accent.

Sakura looked at the babies. "Which one of you to send?" She looked at Ryou. The Black Constrictor would come earlier in his life, leaving him more fragile. If he had to suffer, she wanted it to be at home. Haku also had the disease. Angelus was strong and healthy, he could survive in the ancient times. She picked him first. However, picking a second was harder. While Lance was healthy, he was also the smallest. She picked him up. His little eyes opened a bit to reveal a pure silver unlike anything else. Sakura gasped "Oh, how pretty." Leon saw as well. His reaction was one of shock. "He must stay with us." Sakura was surprised at her husband's reaction. He knew something, but she didn't want to press the matter. She looked at Haku. Yes, he could survive long enough.

Sakura and Leon quickly picked out dates for the two to return and which dates and places to send them. They prepared the spell and said quiet goodbyes. Angel and Sora looked sadly at the ground. Catalina looked like she was pouting in the corner. Antonio tried to console her, saying he understood they're reasoning.

After the spell was complete Sakura and Leon got ready to go home. Sakura came up to the intern before she left, "Will you be our family doctor, good sir? I think you show great promise."

"Yes, anything for you."

"Thank you."

Catalina caught the same young man on her way out. "When I deliver, you better be in the room. You have good bedside manner and are nice. I know you're not used to humans, but it's just the same."

"Yeah, sure thing." The intern smiled.

"Good boy!" She said leaving

Antonio touched his shoulder, "You'll have to excuse her, she's crazy, even for a Tana. But she is correct."

"Sir, I consider it an honor to serve the Bakuras and you and your wife. I only have respect for you, even if she is blunt."

"Thank you, young man." Antonio smiled.

A/N: Yay, Chapter 1 is done! I promise no more hospital scenes for a while and next chapter we follow those babies who went through time. Yes, this chapter was short, but it's the best place for a break. Chapter 2 up very soon!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok, the first chapter looks alright. I'm writing this one in the same night. It's 2 in the morning. I'm insane.

Oh minor PS

"talk"

'thought'

more will be explained as they come up.

Disclaimer: I only own the characters and plot I made up and nothing else. You know what's not mine if you're a fan (or a lawyer .)

~Ancient Egypt~

Haku Bakura ended up on the doorstep of another Duel Monster woman. She gladly took him in. There was a small piece of papyrus with his name written on it in the blanket, courtesy of Antonio. The woman raised him as her own.

-----Fast Forward-----

Haku was ten. His Duel Monster powers had yet to reveal themselves. He had two close friends, but they were human. One was Maya Tana, a spell caster, and the other was Namu Ishtar, who was becoming a swordsman.

The three were on they're way to Haku's house. His house was out of the way and all three could practice there. Haku loved to spar with Namu as well as help Maya. Usually his favorite part of the day was indeed helping Maya. He couldn't wait for this, so he took them on a shortcut through part of the desert. The three had enough water to get through this small fragment.

The three stumbled upon an unconscious person. Namu looked at the man "Is he dead?"

"No, he has a pulse. He must have passed out from the sun." Maya said.

The three flipped him over, revealing pale skin and white hair. Namu looked at Haku, "Is he related to you!?"

"I've never seen him before in my life." Haku shook his head. Then he grabbed his water, "He can have some of mine."

He put a bit in the man's mouth. They watched him swallow. Then the eyes fluttered open, revealing orbs of silver. His eyes had a look of exhaustion to them, beyond the obvious heat-induced issues. The children helped him to the shade and Haku offered more water.

The man had recovered soon. "Thank you, children. The desert must have got to me. I'm not used to this place yet."

Maya looked at the man, "You're still not really better."

"Ah, we have a young healer. Perhaps you can make a recommendation then." he smiled warmly at her.

"You should be inside for a while. The nearest town is a while back, though."

Haku answered, "He can come with us. I'm sure Mom won't mind, she helps strangers all the time."

The man smiled at Haku and answered in the Duel Monster tongue, "Thank you, young man. I will return the favor."

Haku eyes livened up, "You're a Duel Monster, too!"

"Indeed, I am." he chuckled. He switched back to Egyptian, "Now, I think some introductions are in order. You may call me Dagger."

"I'm Haku."

"I'm Maya Tana, sir."

"Namu Ishtar."

The man looked at them all for a moment. His gaze was strange, but it was gone in an instant, "Thank you for your help. Now, I believe we should head out before a sand storm kicks up."

The four of them went to the house. Haku quickly explained what happened to his mother. She agreed to let the man stay for the night. The three seemed satisfied with this and went outside to do their typical activities.

Dagger spoke to the woman for a bit. He eventually brought up the little shed-like building she owned. He offered to pay rent in order to live there. The woman was all too happy to oblige. Haku was excited. This man was the first Duel Monster he'd seen in a long time.

Haku, Maya, and Namu gathered around Dagger one day. "Please, show us your true form," they begged.

"I don't know," Dagger said. Then he looked into three pairs of big eyes and earnest faces. "Well, alright. Stand back a bit." The children scooched back. Strange armor appeared on his body. A sword was on his waist. Then four beautiful angelic wings spread behind him. Three little jaws dropped.

"I see you're impressed," he chuckled. "You mustn't tell anyone, but I am the Lunar Paladin. Many have heard of me and some of what they hear is true."

Haku asked, "Is the reading minds thing true?"

"No. It's close. I can see auras, the energy surrounding people, and can discern from that a person's real intentions."

"Can you see people's powers?"

"No. That's one I never understood how it came around."

Haku finally asked quietly, "Will you train me?"

Dagger smiled, "Yes, you have great potential, all three of you. I will train all of you." The three happily hugged Dagger.

----Fast Forward----

Haku was thirteen. Three years of training with Dagger hadn't allowed him to find his true form, but he thought he was close. They were taking a break as Dagger had fallen ill.

Maya went into Dagger's room. She had brought some remedies she invented to help him. She knocked and entered, "Dagger, it's me. I brought some stuff." She saw him lying on the bed, his breathing ragged.

She crept closer. Dagger then noticed her presence. He spoke hoarsely, "Maya, stay back."

"What's wrong?"

"I can't control..."

"Control wh..." she was cut off by a sudden attack. Dagger was trying to strike her, but she could see he wasn't himself. She kept dodging his attacks for a while. His assault continued until he collapsed onto the floor.

His breathing was worse and he coughed roughly. "Maya...it's too late. Don't use magic, that makes it worse."

"What about these?" she held up the remedies.

"No good...I'm too far gone."

Haku came bursting through the door, "Dagger, are you alright? I heard the noise and..." he stopped when he saw Dagger on the ground. He went closer, "Dagger?"

"Haku...I'm sorry I won't see your true form. I really wanted to. You're like...a son to me." he coughed again. "You three will be strong. I can see it. Funny, close to death and... I can see a bit of the future. Not mine, yours." He touched Maya's hand, "That wedding your mother arranged will not last." Haku tried to hide his feelings at the mention of that event. Dagger continued, "Namu will be a great swordsman." He looked at Haku, "And you...will find your true place in the world." A violent coughing fit silenced him. Blood appeared on his hand. Maya gasped and Haku fell to his knees. "Please, go children. I will return someday. My sword will hide itself until the time is right. Take care of yourselves." He smiled gently at them.

Maya led Haku out. They shut the door and allowed the man to die alone. Maya was married next week. After her marriage, the three split apart, meeting again only years later.

A/N: Short again. Next chapter will have adult Haku and friends. And more characters. It's 3 AM. I'm going to sleep. Bye-bye.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Characters from the show in this one. Sorry that long exposition had to be long. But it had to be done. It's important later. It also gets more interesting and deserves its rating later. But, for now, onwards!

"talk"

'thought'

Disclaimer: I lack ownage of this stuff.

"Mommy, wake up!" a young girl jumped onto the woman in bed.

Maya slowly woke up. She had been summoning yesterday and was exhausted. It took her a minute to register that the thing jumping and shaking her was her daughter, Amarosa. Maya was in her twenties, raising her daughter on her own after her husband was killed in battle. She sat up in bed, stretching.

"Morning, sweety," she yawned. "You know what today is?"

"No, what?"

"Today's the day Haku and Namu are moving in. They're my old friends, remember?"

Amarosa gasped, "Really? Hurry and get ready, Mommy!"

"Ama, slow down, they won't be here for a while."

"Do they have kids?" Ama asked sweetly.

"Not that I know of, darling."

Ama looked disappointed, "Oh."

Maya attempted to cheer her up, "I only talked to them enough to convince them to move in, so there might be some surprises."

Suddenly, the front door opened. Maya grasped her staff that resembled a thorny rose and told Ama quietly, "Stay back here." Maya slowly advanced to the front of the house, prepared to strike at any moment. She couldn't see her intruders face, but could see that he was in a simple cloak. 'A thief probably. A lousy one at that.' In a flash, she lunged at him and was surprised when a sword deflected her attack.

"If this is how you treat all your arrivals, I'll gladly never leave again," a familiar voice said, half-joking.

"Haku Bakura, you should know better than to just barge into my house," she lightly punched him. "Is Namu with you?"

Haku smiled, "Not yet. Couldn't get his ass out of bed this early if he hasn't changed."

Maya looked at his gray eyes, "You look so tired. Come, sit down."

Haku shook his head, "Wait, I wanted to show you my true form first. I'm surprised you didn't ask first thing."

"You found it? Is this why you wanted to come here?"

"Yeah, your house it off the beaten path enough that hunters shouldn't come here."

"Well, show away. I've waited years to see it."

"Alright," he smiled warmly at her. Armor, not as bulky as Dagger's, appeared on him. The armor was shades of gray but always seemed to be changing. A sword whose handle resembled the armor's color appeared. To finish it off, two gray feathered wings came out of his back. "I'm the Shadow Paladin."

An excited little voice piped in, "Oohh, so handsome." She went up to the adults. "I didn't hear fighting, so I figured it was safe."

Haku chuckled, "You must be Amarosa. I'm Haku, who your mother was waiting to hit." Ama giggled and something soften in Haku's eyes.

"Do you have children, Mr. Haku?"

"No. Not yet," Haku said still smiling. Maya detected some regret in his voice. "And you don't have to call me "mister" either. I'm living here remember."

Ama beamed, "I forgot. But now you can eat breakfast with us 'cause Mommy hasn't made it yet." Then she ran into the kitchen.

Maya chuckled, "I'll go cook. Make yourself comfortable, but keep an eye out for Namu."

Haku got out of his true form and sat in a chair. He watched her leave the room. She looked back and caught his eye. She smirked and kept going. A blush tried to creep into his cheeks.

A couple minutes later, he heard someone cursing their luggage. Haku smirked and went to the door. As soon as he heard the luggage drop in front of the door he opened it just enough to stick his head out, "Sorry we don't want whatever you're selling," and shut the door. He leaned on it to hear the results.

"Haku, open the Ra-damned door right now! That crazy woman made me get enough supplied for three armies, so get the hell out here and help me. My luggage would be stronger, but I know about Ama."

"Oh, Maya has been known to curse like a sailor so I'm sure Ama's been corrupted."

"OK, fine. Get the fuck away from the door, stop being a bastard, and help me."

"Geez, no need to swear, there's a little girl here."

Namu debated the merits of knocking Haku unconscious, but then remembered the stuff he had to lug from town. 'He is so lucky.'

Haku looked down and saw a young boy. He arched an eyebrow at Namu.

"This is my older brother's kid. Don't be scared, Haku won't bite. Introduce yourself."

The blond buy looked at him out of lilac eyes, "My name's Malik."

"Well, come in, Malik. Namu and I can take it from here. Go see Ama, she'll be happy to see you." The boy smiled and ran past Haku.

As soon as he was out of ear shot, Haku asked, "Is he really yours? He looks just like you."

Namu shrugged, "Hard to say, but my brother did marry the woman. Already had a daughter with her. Not my fault we were drunk. Then again, my brother probably does the horizontal lovedance every night."

"That's more than I wanted to know. But now I'm the only one here without a little clone."

Namu put a hand on Haku's shoulder, "You'll find the right one soon."

"Yeah, I hope."

"Don't worry about it pal. I don't have kids either. I just borrow my brother's."

Haku laughed, "Alright, let's get this stuff inside." He helped take care of everything but two identical swords.

Namu grabbed them, "These are my weapons of choice. I'm training Malik to fight with them. Ama is a sword fighter, too. I saw her once. Apparently, Tana women have typically been fighters, and Maya's the odd one out."

Haku sighed, "You two have no idea how much I missed our training sessions. After you two disappeared, life got pretty boring, until the hunters got my mom."

"You've been on your own? For how long?"

"Years now. I stopped counting. I didn't want to count."

Namu sighed, "I'm sorry, Haku. One of us should have helped you."

Haku smiled a bit and waved it off, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Ama bursted into the room, "Breakfast is ready!"

The two entered the kitchen and got some food. The three adults caught up on the years, while the two children bragged about their sword skills. Light flooded the kitchen, highlighting Maya's right cheek. Haku and Namu saw the scar, from the bottom of her eye to the bottom of her jaw. Haku felt anger rise inside him, 'Who would do that to this beautiful woman?'

Maya saw they're stares, "I'll explain as soon as they're gone. And don't kick them out." Namu nodded and Haku lightly touched her hand. She gave him a soft smile, "I'm fine, if that's the problem." Haku relaxed a bit, but still kept the worry and anger in his eyes.

The children challenged each other and ran outside, grabbing wooden swords along the way. Haku spoke first, "Maya, what happened? Who did this?" the emotions left his eyes and entered his voice.

"It was a while ago. I was gathering some herbs for my remedies, when I heard something behind me. I turned and this black...thing attacked me. It was shapeless and I could feel this evil energy radiating off it. It tried to take over my body, but failed, leaving me with a nasty gash. I healed it."

"Two weeks later, I heard rumors in town of a similar attack. Only this guy got two gashes, but he was otherwise fine. I think the gashes are a counter, like how many bodies it's tried to claim. I think it's searching for a host."

Haku reacted immediately, "That terrible. We'll have to be on guard. Who knows who it'll attack next."

Namu had his hand on his chin, "Did you get any impressions at all from it besides evil? I mean, like motives or anything like that?"

"No, but as soon as it failed, that thing got really pissed and I swear I heard it say "Damned Tana.""

"Then you be careful, if it knew your name."

She nodded, "Trust me, I am, especially with Ama around."

----Later----

Maya was walking by the river, humming a tune to herself. She was gathering plants for the remedies. After she plucked a flower, she gazed a bit away. Smoke was rising on the other side of a small hill. "I better see if they need my help," Maya said aloud.

She climbed the small hill. Then she hid herself. 'Soldiers, and they're starting the fire.' Maya looked around some more, 'They're gathering the villagers and taking them down there. Let's see what down there is.' She stealthily snuck down to the village and snuck down the steps to the subterranean room.

Maya had smelled something pungent on the way down, but now the smell was nauseating. She nearly vomited at the cause of the smell. The soldiers were throwing the villagers into a bot of boiling liquid. A couple men in official's robes oversaw. Maya stifled a gasp when she saw a man in priest's clothing as well. 'No, no, the Pharaoh would never do this. Who is that man?'

She didn't have time to contemplate. All the villagers were now in the pot. The soldiers dumped the boiling liquid into a hole. After a few minutes, the hole was made larger to reveal a mold with seven item inside.

The priest ordered, "Take the Items quickly."

"Yes, Lord Aknadin."

Tears came to Maya's eyes, 'He is a priest. Why did this happen?'

A black mist rose out of the tablet, "Return the Items at once!" it roared, grabbing the priest. Maya nearly fainted, she could recognize that voice anywhere.

"No, we need these Items!" He yelled, shoving the last Item in his eye.

Maya was struggling with her nausea now, 'I'm a healer, I've seen some disgusting things, but that tops the list.'

The thing disappeared. The soldiers went to help the priest. "I'm fine, let's go men."

"Yes, sir." They left, never noticing the blonde woman.

Maya snuck out after they left. She started running back to her house, but something else caught her eye. A red cloak was on the ground, covering something. She moved the cloak and saw a small white haired boy underneath. "He must have run from the village, poor thing." She started to pick him up, but stopped when the right side of his face became visible. One gash went from his temple, over his eye, to the bottom of his jaw. Two other gashes ran parallel to each other horizontally from ear to nose over the first. "No, no. Ra, please save this child." Maya prayed. She put her hand near the wound and couldn't feel the presence of the creature. "Oh, Thank You, he's safe." She smiled a bit. Maya picked him up, "I'll clean you up at home, little one."

Maya got home quickly with the still unconscious boy. Haku saw her come in with the bundle and ran over. He saw the wound and the boy's white hair, unsure of which to be fascinated with. "Is he alright?"

"It's hard to say. Haku, please fetch some water for the boy. He'll be thirsty when he wakes up." Haku nodded and went.

When he returned she had healed the wound to a scar. She put some herbal liquid over it, "This will keep it healed and should stop the evil if it is inside him. Put the water there." Then she looked around, "Where are the others?"

"Namu apparently forgot to get something in town and the kids followed him. They were arguing over who the better helper would be. Poor Namu didn't know what he was in for."

Maya chuckled a bit. Then the boy started stirring. Indigo eyes opened and glanced around with frightened looks.

Haku kneeled beside the boy, "Don't worry, you're safe here," he said soothingly. The boy relaxed. Haku gave him some water. The boy took it gratefully. "What's your name?"

The boy took a sip before responding quietly, "Angelus. What's yours?"

"I'm Haku and this is Maya. Angelus, where did you come from?"

Tears came to the boy's eyes, "Kul-Elna. It's gone now. The soldiers came and set everything on fire. The took my parents and everyone underground and threw them in something, it smelled awful. They turned it into seven things. This cloak is all I have left of my dad." He was sobbing by the end of his story.

Maya gently embraced Angelus, "Oh, sweetheart. Don't worry. They won't get you here. You'll stay with us."

"R-really?" Hope starting to show.

"Of course. How old are you?"

"Seven."

"Then you're the same age as the other two children."

"There are more people?"

Haku looked out the window, "Yep, here they come."

Namu was carrying three beds through the door. He couldn't see through them. "One for me, one for Haku, and one for company or whatever." Namu set them up in their proper rooms and returned to the main room. He saw the white haired boy talking to Ama and Malik.

Haku shook his head, "Not mine before you go there."

Ama motioned to the adults, "Come to the kitchen, the kids will be fine for a few minutes while we talk."

She explained what she saw to Haku and Namu. Namu shook his head, "I fear for the worst with things like that happening."

"But we handle what we can," Haku said. "As long as he stays here, he should be fine."

"We'll have to be careful. If that evil is inside, Ra help us if something triggers it."

Haku answered with strength in his voice, "I'll protect him, then."

They agreed and returned to the living room. The children were showing Angelus around the house and telling him about training. The adults smiled at them. Maya quietly sighed, 'For his sake, I hope nothing happens to any of us, especially Haku. This evil better not be too strong, for all our sakes.'

A/N: Long chapter! Wow, but I do have to say it looks much better on my document than it does when it uploads. And if anyone has any questions leave a review and I will answer what I can (no spoilers, just explanations if something was unclear to you).

I just realized I've already killed 100 people in three chapters! (Dagger + 99 Kul-Elnans) That's insane. And, as a teaser, there will be more death in the next chapter. Who and how I cannot say. Should be up tomorrow though. And I'll try to keep a running death count. I may be the bloodiest authoress yet.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Four chapters in less than a week. Wow. I don't think I'll be able to update this often or as much for a while, with college starting up again. I'll try to do it on the weekends, but no guarantees. If all else fails, you'll definitely see me again at the end of April when there is a huge break between my finals. Let's get this started... Excelsior!

"talk"

'thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: I'll own Yu-Gi-Oh and Final Fantasy when pigs fly, unicorns exist, and my cat poops rainbows.

Angelus enjoyed Haku's parentage as the years went by. Haku was a gentle parent, but he enforced his rules. "Angelus, you know better than to steal." Haku sighed. Angelus stared at the ground, unsure of what to say. "Tell me why you took it."

Angelus looked up. Nobody had ever asked him to explain his actions before. He was a little shaky at first, but his confidence grew as he continued, "Because we need it. Food has gotten so expensive because of the drought. And there isn't a lot of money, especially with five or six of us eating at a time. I wasn't caught before."

"You've done this before?" Haku sounded angry, but he was concerned. If Angelus thought they couldn't survive, he would just continue as before.

"Not here. Back when I was younger, back in the village." It was still difficult for Angelus to talk about Kul Elna. "My parents didn't make a lot of money. We couldn't afford enough food, so I trained myself. The only thieves there, besides me, were from out of town."

Haku relaxed, "Well, you don't have to do it anymore, alright?" Angelus nodded. "And you're grounded for a week." Angelus moaned and Haku chuckled at the reaction.

Malik started coming less frequently. He stayed home most days to help his father. His mother and sister had been going back and forth between his home and the city for years. They stayed in the city after his sister became a priestess-in-training. At first, he had carried on as normal, but then the drought came. Namu had stayed at Maya's home, but would occasionally stay at his brother's home for a few days.

Ama, while still young, had advanced in her fighting. She was capable of beating some teenagers and adults and had taken to carrying a single-edged sword with her when she left home.

Ama wandered to the varying villages near her house. Her favorite was one by the river that had a shipping company. A nice old man ran it and he would let her come to his house. His wife was a seer and she started teaching Ama to read cards.

There was another reason this village was her favorite. One day when she came, she saw a priest and a boy come to a house. The boy was almost identical to the man, down to the shoulder length black hair and the beginning of muscles on the boy, so she assumed they were father and son. He managed to get away from his parents and sat by the river. She went over and sat beside, "Hi, I'm Amarosa Tana."

The boy smiled at her, "Karim Anuwaret. I don't think I've seen you here before. You new?"

"No, I'm just visiting for a bit. I like to talk to the seer lady. Was that your dad you were with?"

"Yeah, he let me off training so we could visit Mom. She gets worried if one of us doesn't visit for a while"

She scooched closer, "Is it interesting at the palace?"

"I think the other trainees and I have had a more interesting experience than most." He unconsciously touched his shoulder. His eyes betrayed the relaxed tone of voice. She cocked her head a bit at the actions, expecting more. He came out of his reverie, "How old are you?"

"I'm nine. You?" 'Stupid topic change. What did he mean?'

"Thirteen. I just noticed you had a sword. Most nine year olds, especially girls, don't have those."

She blushed a bit, "It's just a single-edge. My mom has been worried about bad stuff happening so she said I shouldn't leave home unprotected."

Karim chuckled, "I thought only my mom was that much of a worrywart." She giggled.

"So when do you go back to the palace?"

"Sometime next week."

"So, I can see you again?"

"Sure, I'll be around." Someone called Karim's name. "I gotta go. See you later, Amarosa Tana."

"Yeah, bye." she said with a goofy smile on her face.

When Ama got home, she asked her mother if she knew the family. Her mother thought for a bit, "I think I've met the seer. Of course, I've heard of the priest and his son. Everyone was surprised when he was picked. I've heard of strange things occurring and that the boy has strange powers. I can't confirm anything, but they're a nice bunch." Ama was satisfied enough with the answer.

----Small fast forward----

The children were ten. The adults had started hearing rumors again of an evil creature. This one didn't want a body, it just killed for sport. Maya decided one day that they had to stop it.

They were getting around early in the morning. Namu finished sharpening his swords. Maya grabbed her staff and a white cloak with two blue lines running around the hem, sleeve ends, and hood. Haku became his true form. Maya wrote a note for the children, saying they'd be back soon and to eat breakfast without them. She told them to stay home unless absolutely necessary. She put it were Ama would look first and the three left in silence.

Maya had fashioned a dousing rod. They followed it to some cavern close to the desert. Three smaller shadows followed about 10 feet behind them, and hid themselves in order to watch.

Maya went in first. "It's here." Haku went up beside her, sword at the ready.

Namu scoffed, "It's too afraid to fight three of us."

Haku smirked, "Say that a bit louder and it might show up."

"And get attacked first? I'm trying to fix my luck not totally break it."

One of the children moaned quietly. His head was pounding. A fire ball was fired at Namu. He barely dodged it. The same child recoiled a bit, frightened at the flame. Ama went closer to Angelus to calm him. Malik put a hand on his shoulder.

A black mist appeared and took form. The thing had the head of a snake and the body of a jackal with a forked tail. It fired another fire ball from its mouth at Haku who flew back. Maya summoned Ixion, the thunder unicorn. "Shock that thing!" she commanded. The aeon obeyed, stunning the creature. Namu went in and got a few attacks in, hurting it to his surprise. Haku had become shadows and managed to sneak behind it, gaining a couple sneak attacks before it retaliated. Maya commanded Ixion again, "Thor's Hammer!" The thing roared in pain, but was paralyzed again. Namu and Haku attacked simultaneously the head, gouging out the eyes and Namu stabbed through it's snout. They pulled out their swords and retreated back. The creature growled and started glowing. Haku shouted, "Watch out!" and flew up a bit. The other two went in opposite directions trying to get away, but it wasn't enough. The creature self destructed, the three each felt the explosion but to varying degrees.

The children decided to come out of hiding and run to the adults. Ama went over to her mother's body on the east wall. Her eyes were closed. "Mama, Mama, wake up." She shook her a bit. Blood came out of her mouth and oozed down her chin. Ama gasped and started crying.

Namu was sitting up on the west wall. Malik ran over, "Are you okay, Uncle?"

Namu coughed roughly, "No." He coughed again.

"But you'll be alright when we get you home, right?"

"I'm sorry, Malik. I don't think I'll be going back with you." He coughed again. Malik could see a pool of blood forming behind him. He looked back and saw a sharp rock had pierced his back. Malik started crying. Namu put a hand on Malik's shoulder, "Take my swords. I want you to have them. You'll be a great swordsman someday. I love you, Malik."

"I love you, too, Uncle Namu." Namu took off the swords and Malik took them. Namu's breath became weak. Soon, he stopped breathing altogether. Malik held the swords close.

Angelus came over to Haku who had landed and was now standing against the southern wall. Haku saw him coming and offered a small smile, "Hey, I'm alright. Let me recover a bit." He started drinking one of Maya's remedies and went out of his true form.

"You mean it? You're fine?" Angelus still looked a bit frightened.

"Yeah. Come here," he said, motioning for Angelus to come closer. The boy did and Haku wrapped on arm around him. Angelus leaned against the man. Haku allowed himself to cry quietly as he gazed at his fallen friends.

After some time had passed Haku called the children over to him. Malik came over carrying the swords and Ama had her mother's cloak and staff. Haku knelt down and embraced all three children. They remained there for a while in Haku's embrace.

The three children followed Haku closely as they left. He took Malik home first. Before knocking, he put a hand on Malik's shoulder, "You can come over any time you want. The door's always open." He then informed Malik's father of Namu's death. The father was shocked and went to go comfort his son.

The rest went back to the house. Although it was only midday, the three of them were exhausted, especially Haku. The two children went to their beds. Haku sat in the living room in the chair. A sudden pain come to his chest. It felt like something was squeezing his lungs, making him breathe heavy. '_No, not now. This can't happen now, these children need me. Oh, Maya, how I wish you'd made that cure before we left.'_

----The next day----

Haku woke up later than the children, which hardly ever happened. The two of them were sitting in silence in the kitchen. Haku sighed and made them breakfast. The silence remained until Angelus asked, "Do you have a job?"

Haku was surprised at the question, "Yes I start tomorrow over in the Duel Monster part of that village by the oasis. Angelus seemed satisfied with that. Haku touched both children's hands, "Don't worry, we're going to be just fine," he smiled comfortingly.

Haku sent the children to get some supplies while he prepared their lunch. A familiar pain entered his chest. He leaned against the counter, his breathing heavy again, almost coming and going in gasps. It passes, but not soon enough.

"You're not fine," a scared little voice said. Haku turned to see Angelus in the doorway. His eyes were misting, "This is because of that thing, isn't it?"

Haku sighed and shook his head, "No, I've had this for a while. It just started getting worse. I think I was born with it." Angelus relaxed a bit. Haku continued, "Maya told me she had a cure, but she didn't get a chance to make it. I don't know where it is."

A determined look came to Angelus' eye, "Then we'll find it. We have to."

"Alright, but first eat." Haku said taking the supplies from Angelus and calling Ama.

----A few months later----

It was night. Haku felt it another attack coming. This was the third in two hours. After it passed, he heard Angelus say from the doorway, _"You're not getting better."_

Haku sighed, _" I know, but we haven't found that cure. I'll be fine."_

_"No, I'll find it. You really need it, Haku."_

_" Alright, but not tonight, I'll live through tonight. Good night, Angelus."_

_"Good night, Haku."_

The next morning, Haku felt hot and his breath was ragged and thin. He didn't know how many attacks or their strength he had during the night. Angelus came in, "Haku, are you awake?"

He tried to answer, but his voice was hoarse. He croaked out, "Yeah,"

Angelus came over to him and looked him over, "That's it, I'm finding that cure today. This is too far."

Haku heard the fear in his voice. He whispered to him, "Ask Ama." Angelus nodded and said he'd be back soon.

Angelus went out and asked about the cure. Ama thought for a minute, "Where did you look?"

"Everywhere visible."

She bit her lip. Then her eyes livened, "Oh, Mama kept some stuff in a secret compartment." She went over to the wall and wiggled out a stone toward the bottom. She pulled out a book and flipped through it until she found a page entitled "For Haku."

"Ok, this is it. We have most of it except some of these plants. Take some money and go to town, Angelus. Get these."

"Alright, I'll be back." 'These plants are expensive. We don't have enough. Good thing she sent me.'

He returned in less than an hour. Ama noticed that the wallet was the same size. "Angelus, Haku said..."

He cut her off, "No, there wasn't enough. He needs this cure more than they need money. Besides, I don't and didn't get caught."

She sighed, "Ok, give them here. This next part is a bit complicated. Please, go keep him company."

Angelus went to Haku. His breathing hadn't improved and his eyes were glassy. He never acknowledged Angelus' presence. Angelus tried to make him comfortable.

Ama eventually came in the room. "Is he awake?"

"I think he is."

She went over, flask in hand. "Haku? Haku, please drink this, it's Mama's recipe." She poured a bit into his mouth. At first, it looked like he would spit it up, but he swallowed it. "That's right. Here, drink some more." They continued until it was gone.

Angelus asked, "How long will it take to work?"

"I don't know, the page said anywhere from an hour to a day."

Angelus sighed, "We don't have a day. It better work soon."

His hopes were confirmed. Haku's fever started dropping after an hour and his breathing started to improve. He was back to normal after three hours.

Haku sat up and smiled at the children and thanked them. Angelus latched onto him, tears slipping down his face. Ama went to his other side and hugged him. Haku held them both, "I'm alright now. I'm fine. Everything is alright now."

A few months later, Haku was late coming home. The two waited. A knock was heard. Ama answered, "Yes?"

"Are you Amarosa Tana?" the strange man said.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. Hunters attacked our village today. They killed Haku."

Ama gasped and fell to her knees. Angelus sat down and started sobbing with his head in his hands.

Late at night, Angelus grabbed his cloak and a couple necessary supplies. He left a note to Ama saying he didn't want to be a burden to her and that she should go to that village with the seer and be safe. He told her not to look for him. He silently snuck out. The King of Thieves had been born.

A/N: Death Count (DC): 103. Now we'll be leaving these characters alone for a while. Don't worry we'll see them again. Maybe up tomorrow, if not then I have no clue. Now imagine Meatloaf's "Bat Out of Hell" playing you out. That's what's on my iTunes right now.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Holy crap, an update! The homework was light this week so I decided to give you guys a treat too. And to get in the mood for writing, (by which I mean somewhat awake and coherent, it's midnight as I start this and it usually takes an hour or two per chapter. I already wrote it on paper, so it's transcribing and changing some things to work better that takes time. The last couple chapters have had some pretty big changes), I'm listening to Repo the Genetic Opera (not owned by me) on YouTube and will probably switch to my iTunes before I'm done. The song is "21st Century Cure," but "Chase the Morning" is my favorite. OK I've talked enough. Begin!

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: *Looks around room at crap with lots of copyright stuff* Yeah I own nothing.

Karim Anuwaret was born in a small village. The palace was visible in the distance. The town was a port town on the Nile. Karim's grandfather owned the yard. His grandmother was the seer, whom people travelled from far away to visit. Karim's father was a priest, but he and his mother lived humbly. His mother had practically raised him by himself. His father didn't come home often. Karim spent his days helping at the ship yard, making friends of the sailors and strangers who were passing through. Karim lived like this until he was ten.

Soon after his tenth birthday, strange men came to the village. These men had never come to the village to anyone's recollection. They wore hoods and cloaks so it was impossible to discern their identities.

Karim saw them coming down the main street. The people of the village were nervous and avoided them. Karim took the opposite approach and met them head on.

"Excuse me, sirs, buy may I ask who you are?"

One man smiled, "You may ask, but you may not get a satisfactory answer."

Karim was undeterred, "Well, in that case, I require to know what you want from this place."

"We are searching for something that may not include you."

He decided to go with a blunt approach, as his patience was wearing thin, "Look, are you going to hurt these people? If you are, I'm going to ask you once to leave."

"And if we refuse?"

"You may regret that decision."

A man in the back of the group stepped forward and whispered something to the leader.

Karim stood on guard, eyes darting around to make sure there were no others. 'I know Mom doesn't like me summoning in public, but I might have to. I can't trust these guys until they show their faces.'

The man turned back toward Karim, "You possess a great deal of magic. Some has been untapped still, but even now you show great potential." Karim was thrown off-guard by the statements. "We mean you no harm. Please, will you escort us to your home? We wish to speak to your mother."

'Why didn't they ask for Dad? How did they know about my magic? Who are these guys?' "Alright but don't do anything funny."

"Rest assured, we won't do anything wrong."

Karim took them to his home. He entered first, "Hey, Mom. Some men want to speak with you."

His mother walked into the room. She had her black hair pulled away from her dark face. Her eyes were almost as dark as her hair and had a weary look to them. She looked over the men, "Well, come in. I suppose it must be important if you didn't tell my son what you want."

The men seated themselves at the table. The leader spoke to her, "Ma'am, we give you no reason to worry," they pulled back their hoods, "We come from the palace on official business."

Despite their words, worry came to her eyes, "Oh Ra, is my husband alright? What happened?"

The man smiled and shook his head, "It is not your husband we are here for. He is well. We came here about your son."

"Karim? My boy hasn't done anything wrong, if that's what you're thinking," her eyes hardened.

"No, no. He has done nothing wrong. In fact, he had done everything right. You see, we came here because it is time to select apprentices for the priests. We sensed a magic signal here and it turned out to be your son. We would like him to succeed his father, with your permission, of course."

His mother smiled, "Of course you have my permission. I want nothing but the best for my child. And a father-son priesthood hasn't happened it a long time from what I've heard. Do you want to do this, Karim?"

Karim smiled, "Yes, I really do."

The man were pleased, "You need to be at the palace next week, then. You're training will begin soon after your arrival."

"Thank you," Karim said, still smiling.

-----Next week----

Karim got off the boat in front of the palace. He waved good-bye to the men on-board. His mother had stayed back in the village. It was difficult to say good-bye to her, but he was also excited about seeing his father.

Karim arrived at the entrance. Strange men greeted him. "Hello, Karim. Your father is away on some official business right now. We will be teaching you in his absence."

Something about these men didn't sit right with Karim. He looked around quickly, and saw nobody else who looked like them, but no one reacted to the men either. "It's nice to meet you. Do you know when my father will return, by any chance?"

"It's difficult to say, as he went to the far side of Nubia. But, this can all wait. Please, go make yourself at home. You're room is in the right wing, the servants will guide you."

"Thank you," is what he said, but he was really thinking, 'Shit.'

Karim was blown away by the palace. It was amazingly beautiful. He had never come to the palace before. The gold, the jewels, the pottery, all of it was so different. His favorite treasure by far was the garden that he could see from his window. He had never seen so many different plants before.

After he unpacked, he decided to see if anyone else had moved into the hall. There were three other rooms in his section. He had taken the room toward the back on the right. There was a room next door to him and two more across the hall. At the back, there were stairs leading down underground.

He looked around the hallway. The door to his left opened. A brown haired boy walked out. His clothes were those of status, but they looked like they didn't belong on him.

Karim introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Karim."

"My name's Mahad. You're the priest's son, right?"

"Yeah. You lived in this area all your life?"

"Most of it. I'm friends with the Prince. He moved me in early, but I wish he'd let me be normal for once." Karim immediately decided Mahad was a good friend, and not a spoiled brat.

They continued talking, until a young girl struggling with her trunk came in. The two went over and helped her get it in the room across from Karim's. She smiled, "It's about time some real men showed up. I'm Isis, I'm eight."

"I'm Karim, ten. You've got a lot of stuff in here."

"Mahad, same age as him. And I agree; this thing's heavier than mine."

She shrugged, "I'm a girl, I'm supposed to have more stuff. It's just the essentials." Karim rolled his eyes. "Besides you two are so strong." She batted her eyelashes, "Thanks, boys. You're the greatest."

Karim went back over to Mahad's room, where they were before, "She scares me." Mahad agreed.

The last to come in was a bald boy with smoky blue eyes. Mahad whispered to Karim, "He's the nine year old. The Prince told me about everyone." The two went over and introduced themselves.

Suddenly, the little girl was directly in front of Shada, between him and the other two. Karim looked at Mahad, eyebrows raised. "Hi, I'm Isis. What's your name?" she batted her eyes again.

"I'm Shada," he tried to back up a bit to regain personal space. The attempt was failing.

Isis grinned, "I'm surrounded by three cute boys!" Then she ran off.

Karim stared after her, "She really scares me." The other two nodded.

At dinner, they met Seto. Karim talked to him for a bit. They were the same age and both were from small towns. They were both relieved at the other's presence.

The Prince also made an appearance. They didn't get to talk to him. A young girl also entered with him. She immediately ran over to Mahad when she saw him.

Mahad introduced her, "This is Mana. She's an old friend of mine."

"I'm not old. I'm seven," she asserted stubbornly.

"It's a figure of speech," he smiled at her.

Isis sighed, "Oh well, guess I won't date him. But I still have a good selection."

The other three apprentices blushed.

A/N: Convenient break is convenient. Training starts next time. And the story starts to get darker. Warning in case I forget: Next chapter starts earning the M rating. Will say no more-no spoiler for you. Maybe up tomorrow (later?) but no guarantees. Surprisingly, still listening to Repo. To play you out is "Night Surgeon."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Wow, I'm writing this at noon. My typical writing hours are late at night (Typically 11p.m.-2 a.m.). And on a Saturday no less. I had to get up today for a meeting. So I guess you guys get another present. Is it a bad sign when "Poor Fool/He Makes Me Laugh" from Phantom is the first song (Owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and his company) and "The Worst PIes in London" from Sweeney Todd (also owned by someone else who is not me)? We shall see. Start!

Warning: Some abuse.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: I own it! *wakes up from dream* Oh crap, I don't!

Karim woke up early the next morning to begin training. He was being trained in the room underground, at the bottom of the staircase at the back of the hall. Karim noticed that he was going pretty far down and that sounds were getting muffled the further he went down. 'I guess I'll get used to it. I'll feel better after Dad's here.'

The men from yesterday greeted him, "Good morning. Today we'll see what level of magic you're currently up to."

"Okay, what do you want to see first?" The men began testing him. Karim flew through the basics and most of the intermediate magic.

"Excellent, you have been taught well. Your father is a great teacher."

Karim smiled at that, "Only some of my magic was taught by my father. My grandmother taught me most of it."

"Ah yes, we forgot your father is busy here." Karim shrugged, but that bothered him. If they worked in the palace, how could they forget?

They were interrupted by a growl. They all looked around. Suddenly, a beast lunged out of the shadows toward them. The men tried to attack it, but their magic seemed useless. The beast smacked the men away and started charging toward Karim. 'Damn! I have to summon, but I didn't want to in front of them.' The beast was preparing to strike at him. 'I like my life more than this secret.' Karim called out, "Bastet!" A large panther appeared in front of him. The panther lunged and started mauling the other creature. Within a few minutes, the beast was slain. Bastet returned to Karim's side. "Good girl," he pet her before dismissing the panther.

The men gathered around him. "That was amazing! And without any summoning tools, either. How long have you been able to summon ka like that?"

"A couple years," Karim said curtly. He wasn't about to tell them anymore.

"Interesting," One mused. Something glinted in his eyes. "Why don't you take a break? I think we all need one."

Karim nodded, "Thank you." He quickly ascended the stairs. He wanted out of there.

He grabbed some food and went outside. Mahad was already there. Mahad saw him and waved him over. "Hey, how's everything going?"

Karim shook his head, "The actual training was easy. Then this creature came out of no where. I had to summon in order to defeat it."

Mahad smiled, "So you can summon, too? I've been doing it for a year or two now."

Karim sighed, relieved, "I thought I was the only one."

"How many teachers do you have?"

"There's a group of six. I think half of them are useless. I hope it'll just be me and my father when he returns."

Mahad shrugged, "Maybe. I have two, the priest and Shu. Shu is a court magician and a much better magic teacher than the priest. And I really like him better; the priest just seems weird."

"I felt the same way about the men who are teaching me. I don't even know who they are. I really don't trust them, especially training me underground."

Confusion showed on Mahad's face, "Underground? Nobody has used that room in a while. I think you should trust your instinct."

"Thanks, but I'll be alright. I don't think they'd really do anything. I have to go back. See you later." Karim got up and ran off.

"See you." Then Mahad sighed, "Don't get in over your head."

Karim went back downstairs. As soon as he was in the presence of the men, he felt like he should run. He couldn't ignore the feeling, but he stayed. The men informed him that training would begin earlier now, before anyone else, in order to make sure he got the proper amount of challenge.

Karim agreed to it. Then he asked, "Have you received any word from my father since he left?"

"We haven't gotten any response since he left," the men seemed happy at this, "but, we will tell you as soon as we do."

"Thank you. My family would appreciate it." The urge to run was growing.

The training continued as normal for a couple weeks. The men presented little to no challenge for Karim's magic. In one-on-one physical fights, the men also were inadequate. Karim's was already showing the strength that everyone would recognize him for, thanks to years working on labor-intensive boats. But Karim was still a child.

One morning the men came even earlier. They practically dragged Karim out of bed and down the stairs. Three of them were with him in order to force him down. They forced him to the floor, placing feet on his back to keep him down. "Look you brat, we know you have more magic than your showing. It's a pretty special type, too. The type our master would like. So either you reveal it to us or we'll get it out of you."

Karim glared at him, "I don't know what you're talking about, but I am not giving it to you. And you'll regret anything you to do to me."

"You think 'daddy's' coming to the rescue?" the man laughed harshly. "You'll be lucky if he's still alive at all."

Karim tried to strike him, "Liar! He will come back!" Honestly, Karim was frightened.

"Why don't you just give up and no take the risk?"

Karim glared at him, "Never!" He tried fighting back, but the men collaborated to keep him down. They tied him up with rope that cancelled out his magic.

At first, they just used their own physical force. Karim was glad they weren't that strong. Then, someone used a whip. The whip cut open his back and the back of his legs. Sometimes it hit the same wound twice, causing Karim to cry out. This continued for hours on end.

Someone shoved scraps of food in his face, "We still need you alive, for now. Eat." He ate weakly, surprised at how tired he was. The men escorted him to his room. It was late. Karim fell asleep as soon as they threw him on the bed.

They continued for a few days. Each day they shortened Karim's rest time and amount of food. Karim would't give in. He still believed his father would come. He thought someone would miss him.

Karim didn't know it, but he was correct. Isis, Mahad, and Shada all noticed Karim was never around when they went to eat or sleep or anything. Isis said that his bed had been slept in and that one time she saw men cleaning Karim's room.

Mahad said to them, "I have the day off tomorrow. I'll stay up and watch for him."

Isis hugged him, "You're the greatest, Mahad." She started crying out of worry for Karim. Shada took her to her room, comforting her. He didn't like seeing people cry.

Mahad set up camp in a chair beside his door. He used a spell to turn himself invisible. He watched and waited. He nearly dozed off by the time he heard some voices near the stairs. He peered over to the stairs. The men were dragging Karim roughly. They were saying things in hushed voices. Mahad couldn't make out their words. Then he could see Karim clearer. He was bleeding profusely, the liquid shining in the faint light. The ruby liquid wasn't coming out of one place, but several. He looked thinner. The men threw Karim roughly in his bed. Mahad heard them say they'd be back in a few hours.

He went over to Karim's room. Karim was already unconcious. He got closer. The moonlight revealed the boy's condition. His left arm had a large cut from his wrist to his elbow. His face and chest were covered in bruises. Mahad could see the blood spreading on the sheets from his back and legs.

Mahad ran over to Shada's and Isis' rooms. He woke them up and took them over. Isis stood there in shock. Shada examined Karim as well. Mahad silently asked Shada for help. They started healing the wounds. Some of the wounds, especially in the middle of his back, were too deep for them to heal. Isis started applying some salve to his wounds and bandaging them. Karim never woke up during the treatment. They carried him to Mahad's room when they were finished. A makeshift bed was made for him to lie in. Mahad used a concealing spell to make him invisible to those men. They went back to sleep. Karim would be safe.

A/N: I'm a terrible person. But I didn't kill anyone in this chapter. That's two chapters in a row! Possibly one more this weekend. After that, I have no clue. And iTunes plays completely inappropriate music. To play you out is "As Long as You're Mine" from Wicked ( I no own).


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hey everyone. This is the first chance I've gotten to write in a while. I decided to pump out one chapter for you and me. There most likely won't be another update as I have three paper due this month and my finals start after that. But look for stuff starting the first of May. Now we shall commence the chapter. First song on iTunes is "Dare" by the Gorillaz.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: I haven't won the lottery, therefore I don't own any franchises, companies, or stuff like that. But if you happen to have that winning lottery ticket... :3

Karim awoke when the sun was high in the sky. He weakly looked around and saw he was on the floor in someone's bedroom. He tried to sit up, but his body was too weak and in too much pain. A quiet moan escaped his lips.

Mahad heard the noise. He went over and saw Karim was awake. He smiled, "Good, you're awake. We were all worried, well Isis was, that you wouldn't wake up yet. Here," Mahad went back to his desk and grabbed a cup of water, "drink this." Karim attempted to raise his arms, but the effort cause too much pain. Mahad noticed he had tried to raise his left arm, which was cut. Mahad knelt beside him. He lifted Karim's head up and tipped the glass into his mouth. The boy said his thanks quietly. Then Mahad helped the boy eat in the same way.

After the task was finished, Mahad was about to leave. Karim called him back, his voice still a little hoarse. Mahad returned. "Mahad, has the Pharaoh gotten any word from my father?"

"No, not that I know of."

"Do...do you think they killed him?"

Mahad touched the boy's hand, " No. Your dad is pretty strong. I think he's fine." Mahad smiled as the boy relaxed. Truthfully, Mahad wasn't sure. Nothing like this had occurred in recent memory. Even the other priests and the Pharaoh were starting to wonder about the priest, but Mahad didn't want to upset the boy more. Thankfully, Karim was satisfied with this answer and started to fall asleep again. Mahad told him to rest as he got up.

Later that evening, Mahad sat beside the boy again and nourished him. After the food and water were gone, Karim asked "Are they looking for me?"

Mahad knew exactly which "they" he meant, "Yes, but my spells make you invisible to their eyes. I'll do the same thing tomorrow, but you'll be in Shadah's room. He has the day off tomorrow. The day after were going to put you in this room we found. It has beds and some other furniture in it, but it's really dusty and hasn't been used in a while. I'm not sure anyone but us knows it exists. You'll be safe."

"Thanks, Mahad. Thank the others, too."

"It's no problem. Now, rest."

"Good night."

The other priests had noticed Karim's disapperance. There was now a wide search for him. The children feared the men would follow the other adults. During the same day, Shadah had noticed part of Karim's lack of strength came from illness. He had developed a high fever, which seemed to fade and return at random.

Two days later, the children had all been given a day off so the adults could search for the missing boy. Karim was in the secret room. All three of the others were in the room with him. His fever had reached it's highest. However, the boy shivered even though his skin was covered in sweat and hot.

The children were deciding what to do when they heard the door being pushed upon. They quickly dove under two beds, Karim and Isis under one, Mahad and Shadah under the other.

Simon and Isis' teacher entered. Simon was telling her, "I find it easier to think in here. It's quiet. And this case need some serious thinking. The boy is still around here somewhere; the food doesn't eat itself."

Isis' teacher nodded, "I know, and the other children seem so worried about him. Isis is always fretting over him. I think she is quite fond of him." Isis blushed and was glad Karim was sleeping.

Suddenly, Simon glanced over to one of the beds. "I know you're under there so come out, boys." Isis sighed mentally, glad he only saw Mahad and Shadah. "What were you two doing under there?"

Shadah spoke to his teacher, "When we found this room, we didn't realize anyone else knew about it. You startled us, sir, and we weren't sure what to do."

"Alright, I understand. This place has fallen into disuse. Don't be afraid next time."

"Yes, sir."

Isis thought excitedly, 'We're off the hook. Yes!' But Karim started shivering again. Then he started coughing hard. Simon looked under the bed and saw a wide-eyed Isis and a sleeping Karim.

"Oh, thank Ra, we found him! Wait a minute...you children knew! Why didn't you tell us?"

Isis crawled out, Karim in her arms to keep his shivers down. "Please don't let those men get him. They hurt him really bad and now he's sick and...and..." her tears wouldn't let her finish.

Her teacher knelt down, "Oh, Isis, those men were sent away from the palace. We realized something had happened and that they did it. They're gone. Here, let me see him." She gently took him from Isis. She put a hand on his forehead, "He's on fire! Poor thing. Let's take him back to his room so he can rest." After she put him in his bed, she quickly concocted some herbal mix to lower his fever. The children sat with him for a while before going to bed themselves.

During the night, Karim felt something tell him to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes. Sitting beside him on the bed was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her skinned gleamed golden and light seemed to emanate from her. An ostrich feather was in her hair, beneath a head band. She looked familiar to Karim, but he couldn't place where.

She smiled gently at him, "Hello Karim Anuwaret." Her voice was the softest and sweetest one he'd ever heard. "I've been watching you for some time. I would have come to you sooner, but you needed to pass this test. It was your choice whether to live or die. And you chose life, but never compromised on what you knew was right. I know you don't understand this now. I'll always be with you now, Karim. I'll help guide you." She smiled at the confusion on his face. She brushed the bangs from his eyes. "Do you trust me?" He nodded. She smiled again. The woman placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. Karim felt warmth spread throughout his body, concentrating in his heart and mind. He started falling asleep again. "Rest easy, Karim. You are safe."

Karim's last thought before he gave in to sleep was 'Thank you, Ma'at.'

A/N: There. I fixed him. Review please. Playing you out is Nena's "99 Luftballons." The German version. It sounds much better.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Bleh. It's finals week here and I'm almost done with my first year of college. It's been fun, but I'm glad it's over. Next year I get to live in a suite and finish my general education (gen ed). After you finish gen ed, you can go abroad, so I'm hoping to go to the UK my Junior year. One more final to go, but I've got some time. I missed writing this. Things are starting to pick up in the plot. Of course, I haven't forgotten:

iTunes now playing: The Corpse Bride: Piano Duet/Victor's Piano Solo from Music from the Film of Tim Burton. (Owned by Tim Burton)

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a few ideas, a pen, paper, and a laptop.

Karim was awake, but he kept his eyes closed. He heard people talking around him. Every now and then he caught sentences: "Dear Ra, is that what I think it is?' "Let me see." "If anyone deserves it, it's him." "A blessed. And by Ma'at too." "Calm down, he's waking up."

At the last sentence Karim decided to open his eyes. He felt much better than he had before. He looked around the room. Karim saw Isis, Mahad, Shadah, a few other adults and, "Dad?" The man smiled and hugged Karim. Karim returned the embrace, tears escaping from his eyes. A second pair of arms circled the boy. He recognized them immediately, "Mom." The parents whispered soothing words to their weakened son. They eventually released him, allowing him to lay back and see the mark on his chest. A feather; the sign of Ma'at. Karim Anuwaret had become a blessed one.

Later, Karim was sitting up in bed. His father was doing some work in the room, so as to keep an eye on his son. "Dad, where did those men go?"

His father sighed, "We are not sure, but they would not dare to come back here." Karim bit his lip. 'If they're out there, who else can they hurt.' "Do you know who they were?"

"No, no one seems to know. They left papers behind, which proved someone in the palace hired them. The employers name was missing." Karim nodded, but his mind would not stop working. He kept thinking about if they came back, if they went after his friends, if they were stronger. His body must have tensed, as his father came over and put a hand on his shoulder, "Karim, do not worry. Everyone knows to look for them, even in the city. When they heard what happened they were worried about you. Those men will have a fight on their hands." Karim felt a bit better, but his mind was still racing. His father smiled at him, "Do you want to go outside for a while?"

Karim couldn't resist. He hated being indoors and underground for so long. He couldn't walk yet, so his father carried him. Karim liked being with his father, but he hated this weakness.

His mother had been waiting outside. She smiled and waved at them. She had picked out a spot by the river, close to where Karim and Mahad had eaten the first day. The food was placed out for them. The three of them spent a couple hours catching up with everything. Karim was enjoying himself for the first time since he got to the palace.

Toward the end of the hour Karim started to fall asleep again. His mother smiled, brushing the bangs from his face. His father picked him up and took him to his room. He fell asleep once his head hit the pillow. When he awoke he was the only one in the room. He slid out of bed, using the furniture to support himself. Karim started walking around the bed, flinching with every step. He managed to go back and forth a couple times before hearing noise outside. He climbed back onto the bed to watch. The door opened behind him, he turned quickly, heart racing.

Mahad entered the room, "Hey. Sorry I scared you. Something's going on out there and your window has a better view. Can I watch too?" Karim nodded and Mahad sat beside him.

A fight was going on below. Karim managed a glimpse at one of the enemy's faces. He gasped, "Mahad, that's them. It's those men." His muscles tightened. "This isn't good. They're blocking our attacks." Karim surveyed the battle. He saw his father surrounded by the men and their monsters. There was no way for him to block all the attacks. 'He could die.' Karim's heart ached. He gripped the sill tighter.

Mahad knew Karim was still too weak to summon a monster right now and his goddess was not suited for this. She was one of justice, but also was the one of order. She may not intervene. Plus, Karim wasn't familiar with his powers as a blessed yet. 'Karim must be aware of how powerless he is.'

Suddenly, Karim's mother ran out of the palace and tried to go to her husband. The men surrounded her as well, preparing to attack. Karim had tensed more. His mind felt like it was on fire.

Mahad watched as Karim stiffened more, put his chin to his chest, grinding his teeth, and closed his eyes. He was about to ask Karim if he was alright when the boy's head lifted again and the eyes snapped open. The pupils had become vertical slits. Mahad heard a noise outside and turned to the window. A black dragon had appeared and quickly killed all the monsters with a black and red flame. Mahad felt some strange energy from the dragon. A voice in Mahad's mind told him it was chaos energy. The dragon then turned its attention to the men. It chased after them, but never attacked. After the men were gone, it disappeared. Mahad turned back to Karim. The boy's eyes had returned to normal and within a minute he passed out.

Mahad climbed out of the bed and allowed the boy to sleep. When he got to the door, Karim's parents entered. His mother smiled at Mahad, "So you two watched?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And I take it you saw our savior," she smiled.

"The dragon? Yes, it was amazing."

She chuckled, "Well, how is my son?"

"He's sleeping. He relaxed as soon as he saw you were safe." 'I'll let Karim tell them himself.'

She nodded, "I figured after such a display of strength." Mahad's eyes widened.

His father smiled, "You seem surprised. I have always suspected that Karim had some sort of connection to a powerful creature. He has been able to speak the Duel Monster language since he was able to talk, and there is not a drop of Duel Monster blood in his body." Mahad tried to absorb that information. His father continued, "Thank you for being here. He probably appreciated it."

"Thank you, sir. Good night." Mahad went over to his room. He took off his clothes to put his nightclothes on. The mark of Heka was on his chest. 'Heka, does something like that happen to all blesseds?"

"No. He is unique. He is somehow able to have the Goddess of Order and Justice co-inhabit his mind with a creature of chaos. It must be Ma'at's will or She would destroy it or kill the boy in an instant. That's why he was in pain: he had to have his mind adjust to polar opposites existing within it. You should keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't go insane with controlling opposing forces."

'I will. Thanks.'

The next day Karim woke and thought of the previous night. 'What's happening to me?'

A soft voice replied, "Don't worry. It's all over. You had two major powers come into your mind and body in a short time. I know it's shocking, but you should be acclimated physically now. Now, just one little thing: Do not go using these powers for every little problem. Your own magic will develop as well and you will use that. Only use these powers in major conflicts, alright?"

'Okay. I like it when you talk. Your voice is beautiful."

"I'm a goddess. What else would you expect?" She chuckled.

Karim turned his head as his door opened. Mahad and Shadah came in with some food. Mahad and Karim met eyes. Karim sensed Mahad kept what happened to himself. "Your parents sent us up here to see if you were awake and to bring you some food," Shadah said.

Mahad shrugged, "It's our lunch break anyway, so we decided to eat with you. Isis should be coming shortly."

Isis then came barging through the door, "Why didn't you wait for me!? I wasn't that far behind. You guys are so mean sometimes!" Isis noticed movement. Karim was sitting up in bed. "Oh, hi Karim. Are you feeling better?" Shadah and Mahad looked at each other, trying not to smile.

Karim smiled at her, "Yeah. I think I can actually get up and walk today. I think the pain is gone."

"Good. I miss seeing you all the time."

"Thanks, Isis." Then a thought hit him, "Wait, you two said it was midday already. Ra, somebody wake me up earlier."

Shadah answered, "Your parents told us to let you sleep."

"I didn't need that much sleep.'

"They said you did. And they said you'd argue."

"Well, they were wrong about the first part and its they're fault I'm arguing."

"They said you'd say that, too."

"Shut up and give me the food." They all laughed.

Karim's mother came in the door. "Karim," Karim smiled up at her. She gently touched his hand, "I have to go back to the village. Your father is his room in the other wing preparing your lessons for next week. Write me soon, alright?"

"Of course, Mom. I love you."

She kissed the top of his head, "I love you, too. Take care, there's talk of invasion."

"I'll be careful."

She left. Karim sighed, "She worries too much. What's the worst that can happen?" The other three stared at him. He shrugged, "I think the worst is over. We'll be fine."

Next week, Karim turned eleven. The priests received the Millenium Items. Karim's father got the Scales. The apprentices would have to learn to use the Items as well. They wondered where the Items came from.

A/N: No we are not going through years of training. Next time is a fast forward. Expect a couple more chapters in the next few days. Ending iTunes: Miss Murder by AFI.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Just got off work before writing this. Ushering is fun, but the patrons drive me up the wall somedays. I did read volume four of Sandman-Season of Mists. Good stuff. It beat studying Psychology as a Natural Science. Enjoy my procrastination. iTunes opener: I'm Not That Girl from Wicked.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! but I'm the owner of the plot.

----Fast Forward----

The training was going by as planned. Karim had taken to waring a cape and any garment than ran over his heart, hiding scars and the mark. Karim was excelling, as his father expected. He was almost the level of his father. Seto and Mahad were also at the same level.

During his training, he had been simultaneously looking for a wife. When he was thirteen, he met Amarosa Tana. Karim liked her upon seeing her. She was spunky, smart, and lovely. But she was four years younger than him and rarely came to town when he was there. Soon after, a girl two years younger than him moved into his village. Karim volunteered to show her around. The two spent their time talking. The two started a long distance relationship when he returned to the palace. She was willing to wait for him; she knew how hard being a priest was. He looked forward to her letters. Her name was Meret.

Letters and visits made each of them happy. No matter what had changed, the two were drawn to each other. He waited until he was sixteen to propose to her. She said yes and their parents approved. They planned it out and invited all their friends. The couple married in summer. It was the happiest time of the year.

Karim returned to the palace. The correspondence between him and Meret continued. They hid nothing, Karim explaining the politics and events at the palace and Meret keeping him up with all the gossip of the town.

One of the more exciting events was the induction of Seto as a priest. His teacher had died mysteriously. He had snake bites on is arm and ankle, but there was no way for a snake to enter the room.

Karim's father was investigating the incident. He questioned the servants and guards, all of whom reported nothing suspicious. The other priests offered what they knew, but everything led to a dead end.

Karim asked a week after the incident, "How's it going, Dad?"

"Not so good, but I believe on of my witnesses was not entirely honest."

Karim perked up, "Really? Which one?"

His father just shook his head. "I am not telling you. You are too young to worry about these things. Everything will work out soon."

Karim sighed, "Fine. I really hope this does end soon. Everyone's so jumpy."

"Who did you surprise?"

"Isis. She's got a mean right hook."

His father chuckled. "I am going to work a little more. Go into town, invite your friends. You deserve a break."

"Thanks, Dad." Karim smiled and took off.

Karim, Isis, Mahad and Shadah managed to go. Seto said he had a lot of work to do, but thanked him for the offer. The four wandered around until dinner. When they returned a servant girl ran out to them. "Oh, thank Ra, you're here. It's awful. Master Karim, your father..." she didn't get any farther before Karim ran into the palace. A crowd had gathred outside his father's room.

Karim saw Simon first. "Simon, what's going on? What's wrong with my dad?"

The old man gazed wearily at the worried boy, the mirror of his father. He said as gently as he could, " Karim, your father must have discovered something important about the incident. He's been murdered, Karim, so he couldn't say anything."

Karim stood in shock, mind racing 'No, it can't be true. He's just hurt. He can't be dead. **He can't be dead**." Karim pushed his way through the crowd. He stood in the doorway of his father's room. His father was on the ground, multiple stab wounds and the knife that inflicted them lodged in his back. Written in blood on the ground:

**Nobody can stop me. Nothing will stop my plan.**

Karim fell to his knees crying. Someone came up behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the Pharaoh. "Karim, come outside." His voice was gentle, but still commanding. Karim stood up, his legs made of iron and his heart being torn by the knife in his father's back.

The Pharaoh took him out to the river. A boat was tied to the shore. "Your father was planning on giving this to you. Your mother will be here soon. You should sit out here and wait for her."

Karim nodded numbly and sat on the ground. The Pharaoh left him alone and told the others to do the same. Isis looked over to him. Mahad put a hand on her shoulder and told her he really did want to be alone.

Many thoughts were running through Karim's mind while he waited. For the first time, he heard a gruff voice respond to him. 'Why him? _**He obviously found something. **_Yeah I got that, but who could overpower my dad like that. _**Either someone very strong of very cunning.**_ That means guards or another priest. But my dad has... had magic. _**That leaves a priest.**_ None of them would do that. None of them would. _** Any other candidates?**_ ...No. Now I have to solve this murder and the other. There's no way two priests dying is an accident.... A priest did do this. It's the only way... _** Don't be frightened.**_ Who's next? The Pharoah, himself? The priestess? One of the apprentices?_** What are you going to do?**_ I don't know... I don't know. Father...' A soft voice added, "The dragon is right. Don't be frightened. You are not alone." Karim kept sobbing.

Karim had been sitting well past dinner when his mother arrived. She wrapped her arms around her son, "Oh, my darling. I'm so sorry to be this late. We ran into a sandstorm on the way and weren't sure when it would end. You must be starving if you've just been sitting out her. Let's go inside."

'We? We who?' Karim wondered. Then he saw another figure. Meret had come. She smiled at him, a smile full of sympathy and sorrow. He took her hand as they went inside.

Karim didn't eat much. His mother understood. She would occasionally stroke his hair or back. After dinner, they were led to their rooms. Karim's mother had her own room. Meret slept beside Karim. Karim had a fitful sleep, dreaming about the murder and all the way it could have happened.

He awoke early in the morning. He slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Meret. He went outside to go look at his boat.

The boat was simple, but a good one. It was long enough to seat four, maybe five, people. It had sails and oars, which were lying beneath the seats. This was something he had always wanted. His father wanted to surprise him, maybe give him an early birthday present. Instead he was stabbed in the back. The tears returned. His mother had come out as well. She heard him get up. She silently wrapped her arms around him. He held her, sobbing into her shoulder.

Karim's father was buried back in his hometown. Karim performed the opening of the mouth ceremony at his mother's suggestion. He stayed for another week before returning to the palace. He was inducted as a priest and given the Scales. Karim silently swore to catch the killer.

A/N: DC: 104. The Bloody Authoress is back! *cue thunder and evil laughter* Ah man, iTunes just played Celtic Thunder's "Danny Boy." Way to make me feel guilty. Oh well. The real ending song is Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' "Cat and Mouse." How eerily appropriate. I think my computer has become self-aware. If you don't hear from me again, my Mac has gone GLaDOS and had a triumph aka killed me. Gotta love Portal.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm so tired, but I feel the need to write this. The little voice at the back of my mind won't stop nagging me. Plus, it's also Not Psychology, which is very important as I don't think I could read Psych if I wanted to. Another chapter, another opener: Your Eyes from Rent (OBC). And nearly forgot: Happy Tenth Chapter!

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! but this fic is so my idea!

Karim dealt with his grief and priest duties at the same time. Sometimes it was difficult, but he managed. He found his father's cloak in the boat. The cloak was green with a pair of white lines running around the hem. His sorrow faded after a letter from his wife. Meret wrote to tell Karim she was pregnant with their child. Their correspondence rapidly increased with the news of wife and unborn child. A few months later, he receive a message that his son had been born. He raced over immediately in the boat, catching the wind along the way. Everyone was there to greet him. He entered his house and saw his wife holding their small son. He greeted her with a kiss and held the babe. They named him Ani. Karim happily stayed with his family for a few days before returning to the palace.

When he returned, it didn't take long to notice people were on edge. He quickly looked around and spotted Isis. However, she didn't see him and when he tapped her on the shoulder Karim was suddenly on the ground with his arm behind his back. "Ow. Hi, Isis, nice to see you too."

She quickly released him, "Oh, Karim, I'm so sorry, but you scared me."

He got up and rubbed his sore arm, "Will you tell me what's going on so I don't end up on the floor again."

She bit her lip, "There was another message on the from the killer. He said he had his next victim in mind. The message was on the floor in our hallway, so everyone thinks it's one of us."

Karim sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, "Well, I guess I'm gonna have a long night then, aren't I?" He winked at her. "Maybe the fair lady will get some sleep while the men protect her."

"Men? Since when did I sign up for another sleepless night?" Mahad asked coming from the corridor.

Karim smiled as he approached, "Shadah, you, and I are sworn to a duty of protection," then he whispered so Isis wouldn't hear, "And if all three of us don't, she'll stay up all night and nag us the next day, at least."

Mahad thought for a second, "You know, you're right. I'll go tell Shadah then." He whispered back, "I hat it when you're right," then left.

Karim turned back to Isis, "Feel better?"

She smiled, "Yes, thank you, Karim. Tell the other two I said thanks."

That night, the three boys sat in their doorways, bored out of their minds.

"Karim, why are you staring at the ceiling?" Shadah asked after noticing Karim had been staring at the ceiling for quite some time.

"Counting blocks," he simply answered

Mahad got a wicked grin on his face, "14, 27, 56, 133, 22, 76, 69."

"Dammit, lost count." The three laughed, then heard a scream. Shadah and Mahad stood up, but Karim told stopped them, "Sit. We'll have a messenger if it's something important." A young girl came running shortly. She was panting and was frightened to tears. Karim sat her down, "Take deep breaths." She did as he said and calmed down. "What happened?"

"It was worse than the other. Blood was everywhere. This time two were dead, a priest and court magician."

Mahad stood up and ran down the hall.

Karim sighed, "Thank you, miss. Sit here for a bit. Hey Shadah, should we wake up Miss Paranoid-Keep-The-Men-Sleepless."

He smirked, "Nope."

Karim was confused, "She's want to know."

"I know"

"Then why don't we get her?"

"Because she's right behind you."

He turned and saw an angry Isis, "Hi." She looked like she was going to hit him. "You know, you're kinda cute when your mad, but even prettier when you're not."

She stopped and asked, "You think I'm pretty?"

"I cannot deny it."

"Aww, you're sweet."

Shadah rolled his eyes, "I think we should go find Mahad."

Karim nodded, "Let's go. Don't come if you can't handle grisly scenes." Isis raised her eyebrow. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

They came upon a portion of hallway now decorated red. The two bodies had been decapitated. The Ring was nailed to the wall next to the words:

**The Darkness is Watching**

Mahad was standing, dumbstruck and pale as a lotus. Isis went up to him first, avoiding looking at the scene, "Mahad, why don't you come away from there? Come sit by me."

Shadah came up beside Mahad, "She's right. Come on." Mahad stood like a stone.

Karim looked at the court magician's severed head. He thought he recognized him as the one called Shu. He didn't know how attached Mahad was to the magician, but he knew Mahad liked him better than the priest. "Mahad,I know this hurts. But standing there is not helping. Trust me, you need to get away." Karim touched Mahad's shoulder and received no response. He closed his eyes and silently asked a question. Ma'at responded that he was panicking mentally according to Heka, but wouldn't elaborate further.

Karim saw the Pharaoh enter. He went over, passing a window in the process. He smelled smoke outside and quickly looked out. Another message was there, burning near the river:

**The True Heir Will Ascend The Throne Even If This Kingdom Must Burn**

The Pharaoh came over to the window. Karim asked him, "Do you know what this mean, sir?"

The Pharaoh thought for a minute, "I honestly have no idea." He then called over some guards to go put out the flames. Karim turned and saw Mahad still in shock. Now he could see his face better. He was absolutely white and his eyes were clouded with fear.

The Pharaoh followed Karim's sight to Mahad. He went over and made Mahad look up to his face. Tears started flowing down Mahad's face. The Pharaoh led him away. Everyone stared after them. They had known Mahad was close to the Prince, but they didn't realize the Pharaoh was close to Mahad as well.

Mahad was inducted the next day. A few hours after the ceremony, the court was dismissed. Karim went looking for Mahad after this. He had disappeared. He asked everyone where he had gone, but no one knew. Mahad turned up a few hours later, smiling broadly. "Well, I guess you feel better. What happened?'

Mahad said still smiling, "I've finally met my brother."

"Hold on. What do you mean met? Haven't you always known?"

"I better explain."

----Flashback-----

Mahad was five. He lived far from the palace with his mother, father, and older brother. The whole family was spell casters, and were one of the few families with access to the training grounds near the palace.

One day, men in hoods came to the door. Their mother whispered to the boys, "Kage, take Mahad and hide out in the cellar. Wait until they leave."

Kage nodded and took Mahad downstairs. He was five years older than Mahad. Kage chose to hide in the corner. There was a hidden exit in the corner.

Kage tried to listen to the adults' words, but couldn't hear anything. Then he heard screaming. He recognized their parents' voices as the screams. He grabbed Mahad close to him and waited. The cellar door opened. A man growled, "Hurry and find that blessed one. He needs to be eliminated before he becomes a threat to our master." Kage quietly opened the exit and crawled through with Mahad and just as quietly closed it.

When they had made it to the next town Mahad asked Kage, "What did they mean by the blessed one?"

Kage sighed, "The meant me." He pulled down his shirt so Mahad could see the mark of Heka. "This mark means the god Heka decided to give me a gift and help protect me. Keep this a secret, Mahad."

"I will, big brother." He hugged him. "Where are Mommy and Daddy?"

Kage shook his head, "They're not coming."

"Did they go see Ma'at and Osiris?"

"Yeah."

"Then they're happy."

"I hope so," the blonde boy hid his tears from the younger boy.

They were wandering around the village, trying to find their next job. Doing odd jobs earned them a living. A man with his arm in a sling came up to them, "Excuse me, boys. I hear you help out around town, so maybe you'll help me. I injured my arm at work and need some help moving some things."

"Sure. Just show us the way," Kage said, hoping this would be enough to afford dinner.

The man led them into an alley and back behind a group of houses. Kage noticed there was nothing back there, but before he could do anything the man quickly took Kage down to the ground and delivered multiple blows.

"Mahad, run!"

Mahad stood frightened, unsure of what to do. He wanted to help his brother, but didn't know what he could do. "Mahad, go! Go now!"

The boy started running, but there were other men around, quickly surrounding the boy. One grabbed Mahad.

Kage saw through a break in the beating what happened, "No! Put him down!" He felt a surge of energy and broke out from underneath the man. He fired a powerful thunder spell at the group. However, the man that led them back found a large stick. He hit Kage in the head hard. Kage fell, and whispered his brother's name before losing consciousness.

The men took Mahad to an outskirt of the royal city. They locked him in a room. He sat on the mat, crying.

A few days later, palace soldiers came to investigate the house. Someone reported a murder earlier, on top of other crimes. They broke down the door to the room Mahad was in. Mahad was scared and didn't recognize the uniforms. He used a basic thunder spell on them. It stunned them for a few seconds, then they saw the boy curled into a corner, crying.

One of the soldiers tried to coax him out of the corner, "Hey, kid. It's alright. We aren't gonna hurt you. Come out, it's alright."

Mahad shook his head, "No. You're lying. You're gonna hurt me like they hurt my brother."

The other soldier spoke up, "No, kid, we won't do that. Come here, it's gonne be okay. We'll help you find your brother."

"Go away!"

The commander came in, "What's going on back here?" He saw Mahad, "Is this their kid?"

"No, sir. They kidnapped this one. He won't trust us. He says they hurt his brother, probably hurt him too."

The commander frowned, "Guess we can't blame him, but how do we get him out of here."

"Maybe if he sees another kid he'll trust us."

"He might trust the Pharaoh."

The commander nodded, "I'll go inform the Pharaoh. You two stay here and make sure the kid doesn't hurt himself."

A half hour later, the Pharaoh came in with the three year old Prince holding his hand. The soldiers warned the Pharaoh about the boy's magic. He looked at Mahad, "Excuse me, young one, may I know your name?"

Mahad looked up at the king and saw the younger boy holding his hand. He finally responded, "My name's Mahad. Who's that?"

The Pharaoh smiled, "This is my son, Atem. Why don't you come over here so we can talk better?"

Mahad slowly got up, still cautious. He smiled at Atem and got a shy smile in response. The Pharaoh started questioning Mahad, "Where are you from?"

"The little town out that way," he pointed toward the West.

"What's your brother's name?"

"His name's Kage. He's ten and blonde and..." Mahad stopped. "Can you keep a secret?" The Pharaoh nodded and leaned close to the boy. "He's a blessed one." Mahad whispered in his ear. The Pharaoh nodded and Mahad continued in a normal tone, "He was trying to make money for us because out parents went to the other side."

"Mahad, will you come with me?"

"Okay."

He took Mahad's hand and led him to the home of one of his court magicians. The young man opened the door and saw the Pharaoh and Mahad. He allowed Mahad and Atem to go play in another room together.

The magician sat across from the Pharaoh, "Who's that kid?"

"He's an orphan, Shu. He says his brother had to support them, but didn't have a steady job. The kid's named Mahad and his brother's name is Kage. We're going to try to find his brother. Would you take them in? Both of them have magic and his brother is blessed."

"Say no more, sir. I'll gladly help them. Let's hope we find his brother."

For years, Mahad stayed there, becoming friends with Prince Atem and another magician's daughter, Mana. The Pharaoh never found Kage.

The day Mahad was inducted, he went to the training grounds to be alone. Shu's death and the new responsibilities were almost too much. Mahad was typically the only one who used the training grounds.

When he arrived, he saw a cloaked man already there. 'Damn. Who else uses this place?' Mahad then thought of this man as the perfect stress release, 'Let's just see how good you are.' Mahad activated the traps. With a motion of his hand, the man deactivated the traps. He stared at the priest. "Mahad?" He pulled back the hood.

Mahad gasped, "Kage." He ran over and embraced his brother. "You're alive," he sobbed into the older man's shoulders.

"Oh, Mahad. I missed you so much." Kage cried out of happiness.

"Where were you? The Pharaoh tried to find you."

"The cat lady and her daughter fixed me up. Then I left to look for you. I couldn't get too close to the palace until recently. I knew you'd come here." He sighed, "Now, when did you become a blessed?"

"It was after I moved into the court magician's house. You would have liked him."

The two spent the next couple hours catching up. Mahad suddenly became aware of the time again. "I have to go. I'm a priest now, they're probably looking for me. Please come again."

"I will, Mahad. Don't worry."

----End Flashback----

Karim smiled, "I'm happy for you, Mahad."

"Thanks, Karim. Oh, don't bother looking for me next weekend. I'm going to Kage's wedding. He's marrying a woman named Vai. She sounds nice."

"Umm, could I come, too?" Karim chuckled, nervously.

"Let me guess. Your wife."

"Yeah, she wants to be more involved in that kind of stuff."

Mahad laughed, "Sure. I'm sure Kage won't mind."

Kage didn't mind. He was rather pleased to meet a friend of Mahad, especially another blessed. It was a beautiful day.

A/N: DC: 106. And then I have a wedding. This is like the games of Settler of Catan I play (I play Knights and Cities). (Brownie points to whoever gets it.) Probably won't be another chapter for a couple days, but should be updating again by the end of the week. I have to pack and move back home. Ending Theme: Like a Sunshower by Journey


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry to say this, but this will be the only chapter this week. I got back from college and found time and now we have to leave to see my cousin's graduation from high school. So I'll be gone for the rest of the week with packing and traveling and all that stuff. I'll be back on schedule after that. Opening Theme: By the Sea from Sweeney Todd (the movie)

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

Disclaimer: I do not have the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! but this plot came from my mind.

Time went by and eventually Isis and Shadah became priests. Karim had turned eighteen. He was alone in his room, thinking about the tattoo he saw on Shadah's forehead. 'It seems so familiar. Where have I seen it before? I can't shake this feeling that it's not good.' Something caught his eye outside his window. Smoke was rising in the distance. The smoke was thick and black, indicating a large fire. Then realization struck, 'That's where my home is!' Karim quickly threw on the green cloak and ran down to the stables. A horse would be faster.

When he was a short distance from the village, he saw the crowd of villagers. He went right up to them, slightly relieved. His wife was in front of the mob. "Is everyone here?" She nodded clutching the baby closer to her. He scanned the crowd. "Where's my mother?"

Meret gasped, "She's not here? But, she was right behind me. Oh no." They both looked at the burning village. Meret started crying.

Karim put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll go find her. This isn't your fault. I'll be right back."

He rode in and started calling for her. He noticed a group still riding through the town, ignoring him. These were the arsonists, still flinging flames. Karim went down a street they currently were not on. His mother was on the ground.

He jumped off the horse and rushed to her side. He gathered her in his arms. Her eyes were shut and she had a gash that was still bleeding. "Mother, Mother, wake up. Please wake up.' He shook her gently. Her eyes opened.

"Karim, they got me good. I'm not gonna make it."

"Mom, don't say that. You're going to be fine." Tears were in his eyes.

"Shhh. It's alright. It's my time and you know it."

"No Mom. Don't leave me."

She reached up and stroked her son's face, "I love you, Karim."

"I love you too, Mom."

She brought her hand down, took a deep breath, and released it in one last sigh.

He sat there with her in his arms, aware of the whoops of the arsonists. 'This is their fault. They must pay!' He let a yell and summoned the dragon. Mahad, Isis, and Shadah had come to help if necessary. They were just outside the town when they saw the dragon. Mahad gasped, 'This can't be good. We should get to him quickly.'

They rode closer and watched the dragon run some people out of town and right to them. Mahad and Shadah knocked them off their horses. The townspeople restrained the men. They looked up to see the dragon carrying water and dumping it on the flames. When it had finished, it disappeared. The priests rode into town to see a crying Karim holding his mother's body.

Meret came in behind them and saw Karim. She ran over and carefully knelt down to him, adjusting the baby to lay over her shoulder. She pleaded with the priests, "Please, let him stay here for now. I think that would be the best thing for him. Please."

Mahad nodded, "Alright, we'll tell the Pharaoh. He can come back when he's ready."

"Thank you."

As the three went back, Mahad told Isis and Shadah about the other time he saw the dragon. When he finished, they had arrived back at the palace. The three described in detail what had occurred. The Pharaoh agreed with Mahad's decision, "He will be broken far a while. Even when he returns he will not be himself. He needs all the support he can get."

When Karim returned, Isis was the first to greet him. She hugged him gently. He returned the gesture. The others greeted him, but gave him the space he needed. They knew this would be a difficult time for him.

Isis was the first to notice that Karim was more withdrawn than ever. She could see in his eyes the sadness he still carried. She talked to him everyday in an attempt to comfort him. To her, the smiling, joking Karim she had known was gone, replaced by this somber, melancholy one. She had found a few containers hidden in his room. They were empty but smelled of alcohol. She didn't want to know how much he drank a night. He was drowning himself in alcohol to forget the sorrow.

Strangely, nobody else seemed to notice his new behavior. They just assumed he was mourning, but they did mention that he was going downhill fast.

Isis saw him one night standing by the river in the garden. He was talking, but Isis wasn't sure to whom. Then it hit her, 'Ma'at. He's talking to Ma'at. Good, she'll help him.' She listened to the conversation. She couldn't hear any words, but she did hear his sobs. This was the first time he had cried since he came back.

Later, Isis saw a few more conversations between Karim and Ma'at. Everyone seemed to notice that he was acting better. A new behavior had emerged. He was seen frequently in the archives looking for something. Mahad had suggested he was looking for the killer that had terrorized them last year. Most had forgotten, or at least tried, about those terrible times.

Two years had gone by without incident. Karim had turned twenty. He was going to see his wife and son for a weekend. 'Was it just me or when I left did Isis look jealous? Why would she be jealous? She's a reasonable girl, there's nothing for her to be jealous about. I'll ask her when I get back.'

When he arrived, he was surprised to see her parents outside. Then he noticed they looked upset. He stopped his horse and jumped down, pulling the cloak back around him. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?"

His father-in-law was letting tears trickle down his face and shakily began, "Meret is not. Someone has killed her."

Karim stood there stunned. His mind froze for a minute then a thought came charging back, "Ani. Where is he? Where is my son?"

"He's safe. He can stay with us," the man stopped for a moment and noticed Karim starting to cry. "Would you like to see him?" He got a nod in response. He quickly fetched the little three-year-old.

Karim held the boy close to him, telling him gently that Mommy was gone and answered questions Ani had. He stayed a week with them before returning to the palace, promising his son he'd be back as soon as possible. As Karim left, he held a note in his hand, written by his wife. It was the last hint to the identity of the killer, yet simply read: **one eye**

Word had gotten around quickly about Karim's loss. Isis came over more often and was constantly checking and cleaning his room of empty alcohol containers. She often had a remedy ready for his hangovers. His talks with Ma'at didn't seem to help at all.

She was cleaning out his room one day when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around, nervous and frightened. It was Shadah, but she still futilely tried to hide the containers. He knelt down beside her and spoke quietly, "You don't have to hide those from me. I suspected he was doing something like this. I won't tell."

She sighed, "Thank you. But all I want to know is how to fix him. Ma'at is trying but not helping him enough. He is just so broken," she nearly started crying.

Shadah drew her closer to him, "I don't know, but I think he appreciates what you're doing. Maybe you should come here when he's awake."

Isis raised her eyebrow, 'Does he know something I don't?'

Shadah stood up, "I have to go and so do you. He has a day off, as Mahad requested. Let him sleep."

That night, before Karim could ever get one sip of the numbing liquid, Isis came in. He stared at her in a welcome shock while she came over and put her soft hand over his. He looked into her eyes, and looked away from all the emotions in them. He felt liquid coming down his face. Isis silently bent over and kissed one of his tears. He put a hand on here arm before she could get too far away and held her close. They stayed in the embrace for a few moments before letting their lips meet. Karim suddenly became animated, kissing her with more force. She melted into him. He gently nibbled on her lip. She granted his wish and they explored each others moths. They parted for air and she laid against his sturdy chest. For just one moment, he thought he shouldn't have done that, but then heard a voice tell him it was fine, he had committed no crime. This was right.

Two figures had been stealthily watching. They smirked at each other. They went into a different room before Mahad said, "It's about time."

Shadah agreed, "Nine years was more than enough."

"The worst part is he never noticed."

"And she could never work up her courage to tell him."

"Well, at least now it's over."

"Yes, this is the best for both of them." The two priests went to their rooms and left the lovers alone.

A/N: DC: 108. This is short and that annoys me, but this was one of the easiest chapters to write. I like how it's bittersweet. Especially with what's coming next. Everything is going to explode (plot-wise anyway). Soon we'll be out of ancient Egypt and things will really get interesting. Ending Theme: Kiss Me Softly by Journey (No, I'm not kidding and no, I didn't do it on purpose).


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm back. Things have finally settled down and updates should be more regular/often. This one will be a little longer to make up for the two weeks I was busy/away. Opening Theme: The Game Master by MadHatter. 8-bit rap FTW.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

"_**The Dragon"**_

Disclaimer: If I owned this series it would have had less card games and Ryou's voice would be done by a man.

A few days after their kiss, Isis went back into Karim's room to check for containers and found none. A pair of arms encircled her lovingly. "You seem surprised. I gave up that stuff. I found something much sweeter," Karim whispered in her ear. "Now, I have something to ask you. You and I have the weekend off. I want you to come with me to visit my son. Will you?" She nodded and leaned back to kiss him. "Thank you, Isis."

That weekend she climbed into the boat with him. He navigated to the village, telling her about him and his son. When they landed, he helped her out of the boat and introduced her to Meret's parents. Karim pulled them aside. Before he could open his mouth, Meret's mother said, "That one's a keeper." Karim stood flabbergasted. "What? Did you think we'd be mad?" He nodded and breathed out a yes. Her father placed a hand on his shoulder, "You're a good kid. I'm sure Meret would want you to find someone you love. She never wanted you to be alone. She worried since your mother's death." The man smiled broadly, "Come on, let's get Ani."

They went into the house and Karim was greeted with a big hug. He picked up Ani and put him on his shoulders. He sat down eventually and Ani climbed down and stared at Isis. Karim introduced them and let him go over to her.

They enjoyed the day and before Karim left, he knelt down next to Ani. He took off the green cloak and placed it around the small boy. "Take care of it. This way you'll always have something of mine. Maybe you'll grow into it."

The boy smiled, "Thank, Daddy. I like Isis. Can she come more?"

Karim smile back, "We'll see." He hugged him and left. Isis smiled as he helped her into the boat, "He is a sweet child." Karim guided the boat back, thinking of his future for the first time in a while.

Karim turned twenty-one. His evening started with a routine securtiy check around the city. He saw a man passed out toward the edge of the city. The man had a bag and a red cloak. Karim got off the horse and shook the man's shoulder. His eyes barely opened, confirming his illness. "Sir, please tell me where you live, or at least the direction, and I will take you there. I wish to be sure you're safe."

The man silently pointed out of town, toward the West. Karim placed the man and his things on the horse. They soon arrived at their destination, a small house far from any other, hidden beneath a cliff. Karim knocked on the door and a woman answered. She saw Karim's load and helped bring him inside and put the man in bed. "Thank you, sir, for bringing him home. I was so worried." She opened the bag and revealed a large amount of food, "He always gets so much. It makes sense with the child, but he pushes himself." Karim could see a small bed with a young child in it.

"It was no trouble, ma'am. But, may I ask what caused that scar? It's quite unusual."

The woman shook her head, "He doesn't like to talk about it and wouldn't appreciate it if I told. I'll just say he's terrified of the thing that gave it to him."

Karim nodded, "Well, then take care of him. I must be getting back." With that, he left and returned to the palace.

Soon after this, relations between Egypt and Nubia became strained, creating anti-Nubian sentiment in the kingdom. It wasn't long after this Karim found another ill man, this time well within the city limits. This one was responsive. "What's your name, sir?"

The man pushed blonde bangs out of his eyes, "It's Malik, sir, and please, I'm fine. I've had this for few days and just pushed myself too hard. I need to get back home to my father." He coughed and gagged a bit.

Karim thought about the name and a glint came to his eyes, "Come with me to the palace. I know someone who will fix you up."

"Oh, you really don't have to."

"I want to." Karim smirked.

He brought Malik to Isis' room. "Stay put and I'll fetch your...doctor."

Malik sighed and laid back in the bed before he heard, "Malik? Dear Ra, Karim, you brought me my brother as a patient." Malik looked at the doorway and saw a shocked Isis and a smirking Karim. "Sister? You've become a healer? And who the hell is this guy?"

Isis sat down beside him and explained, "Yes, I'm a priestess and a healer. All the priests can heal to some degree. This is Karim, he's a priest and my boyfriend."

Malik's eyes widened, "Boyfriend? The woman who used to proclaim all men were evil has a boyfriend? Either I'm really sick or the end of the world is coming." Isis punched his arm, "Definitely not dreaming," and she punched him again.

"It's none of the above. I love him. Now do you want me to make you better or worse?"

"Better, please. I was just kidding, sis. I'm happy for you," but when she wasn't looking he mouthed to Karim, "Run while you can." Karim nearly laughed and shook his head. He mouthed back, "Why?" Malik replied silently, "She's crazy." Karim smiled broadly.

Isis started working on Malik. Within minutes, he was cured. "Thank you, sister. Can I go home now? Or will another one of your friends stop me?"

"Malik, you can go if you really want to. Remember, I'm always here if you need me."

"Yeah, so is my future brother-in-law. Yippee." She hit him again. "I love you, sister." Malik successfully redeemed himself.

The next week, Karim was out in the garden when someone came up to him and hugged him. He looked down and saw a girl in a white cloak clinging to him. "Umm, hello, Miss. Can I help you?"

"Karim Anuwaret, you helped me by just being alive."

"Yeah, that's nice of you. Do I know you?" he asked while looking around to make sure nobody was watching.

"Yes, you do. Look at me. Come on, think back." She released him and stood back a bit.

He looked her over. Blonde hair, blue eyes, tough looking body, and a double edged sword at her waist, concealed partially by the cloak. "Amarosa Tana?"

"Yes, you got it!" she latched onto him again.

"Uhh...if someone is watching, I'll be in deep shit later."

"Oh, your girlfriend is talking to her friends, no worries."

"How do you know about that?"

"I have great connections. You keep looking down at my sword. Cool, huh? I found it in some of my family's old stuff. It's called the Celestial Sword."

"Yeah, that's really cool. Ama, why are you here?"

"I wanted to make sure, in light of recent conflicts, you were still alive. And I need your help."

"What do you need?" He sat down and he motioned for her to sit next to him.

She sighed, "It's complicated. My friend Angelus has and could be the problem. He has this scar on his right cheek that's shaped like this," she drew the double crossed "t" in the sand.

"Wait a minute, I know that scar. I found him one day and took him home. What's up with that scar?"

"That scar was given to him by the most evil thing I've seen. It's a mark of ownership. That thing lives inside his mind and can possess him. Angelus is then completely unaware of what's going on unless that thing shows him. It feeds off Angelus' anger and hate. You see, his village was destroyed and he is the only survivor." She ran a hand through her hair, "My mother was there and saved him. According to her journal, the name of the village was Kul-Elna. That is where the Millenium Items you guys have were made. They were made by mass sacrifice."

Karim looked at the gold item, disgusted. "I understand completely. You think he'll come here eventually and kill us all."

She nodded and placed a hand on his arm, "Yes, but you can talk to him now. You understand and you could get him unpossessed."

"I'll try, Ama. I can't promise anything. Especially if one of the others get to him first."

"I know, but thank you. You know, I never understood why we needed those items anyway. And according to my mother's journal, one of those items was an eye. That seems highly impractical. I mean, how can you go around with one eye? You can only see half the world around you."

Karim repeated, "One eye." He hugged Ama, "You've been a big help, Ama. I'll do my best to repay you."

"Thanks, Karim. I trust you. I would do this myself, but I'm leaving Egypt soon. If you need a quick escape, you can come with me."

He smiled, "I'll be fine, Ama. Be careful."

Karim spent the next couple months searching through the records in the palace again. War kept raging.

One day, guards brought in a group of Nubians, men and women, to celebrate a major victory. The Pharaoh sentenced the men to do hard labor, typical of the time. The sentence brought praise from many, but Karim felt uncomfortable. A few of the prisoners saw this and tried to make eye contact.

The Pharaoh made a surprising sentence for the women. He ordered them to either be kept in jail or put to death. Most of the crowd cheered. A look of horror came to Karim's face. He shouted "No!" and rushed to the group of prisoners.

Before the Pharaoh could speak, Akhnaden spoke, "Lord Karim, what is the meaning of this?"

Karim glared at them all, "Putting someone to death for their nationality isn't right, especially innocent victims like these."

Akhnaden went on, "But they are enemies of Egypt."

"No, these are subjects of a government who goes against us. It is the government who should be punished, not people who have no control."

"That doesn't matter. They are all enemies, they all accept that government."

"Are you saying all Nubians are your enemies?"

"Yes."

Karim's expression hardened, "Then throw me in the prisons or the gallows or the slave lands."

Everyone looked perplexed, "But why?"

"Quite simple. My father was a pureblooded Egyptian. My mother was a pureblooded Nubian who fell in love with my father after he came through her town. I am half Nubian."

Everyone froze at the revelation. He waited a few minutes before leaving the room. Isis followed him to his room. Karim was gathering his things. She ran up to him, grabbing his arms, begging him to stay.

"I don't belong here, Isis. I have to go. You can come with me if you want to, but let me go."

"But, Karim..."

"No buts. I love you and I want you to come with me. I can't stay here now."

"Where will you go?"

"First, to my son. I will take him with me. Then I'll leave Egypt. I'll probably go across the sea, maybe further."

A voice spoke from the doorway, "Wait, I don't want you to go anywhere." They turned and saw the Prince standing there. "I agree with you, Karim. I talked some sense into my father. You're staying here for a while. After all, I want to see you in my court someday."

"Prince...thank you."

"Let's go back and try to forget this ordeal."

A/N: Yeah, that whole plot explosion thing? Next chapter, in case this wasn't big enough for you. Hey, I didn't kill anyone. I'll have to make up for that. End theme: Light On by David Cook.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey, everyone! Sorry you had to wait, but I've had to do a lot of work around the house and I had an eye appointment the other day. For some reason, I've also been really tired and just didn't feel like staying up to write (night time is my writing time). So I'll stop talking and let you enjoy your fic. Opening Theme: Cataclysm by Iced Earth.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

"_**The Dragon"**_

Disclaimer: Everything has an owner. These owners are lucky people. I am not one of these lucky people.

Karim turned twenty-two. By this time, the war was over and many had forgotten his outburst. This night, Karim was heading back down the stairs, to the room where he had once been mercilessly abused. It was late, everyone was supposed to be sleeping.

He stayed in the shadows as he crept along. Karim stopped outside the doorway. Lights were on inside. He listened to the men inside.

"Sir, everything is going as planned. The Pharaoh will be dead by sundown tomorrow and no one suspects poisoning as the cause of his illness." The man speaking sounded like one of the lower officials.

Karim expected the next voice he heard, "Excellent. And what about the Anuwaret boy and the other blessed one?" Akhnaden asked.

"Neither one has shown more strength than we expect. They're behavior has been normal, so it is safe to assume they are not investigating."

"Good. Perhaps we won't have to dispose of them after all."

"This is the part where I prove you absolutely wrong," Karim stated. "Your security is rather poor. Maybe if you weren't trying to kill your brother you could train them better."

The old man's eye widened, "How do you know...?"

"I've done some digging. I mean, I've lost most of my family. There is no way that is coincidence. For once, I'm glad we keep all that paperwork. I questioned those men. The one you hired to nearly kill me." His eyes had a golden glow in them. His voice remained even, "Turns out they were really easy to convince. Did I ever tell you how much murderers piss me off?" The ground rumbled. A pair of crocodile jaws erupted from the ground and devoured a few of the officials in the room.

"My wife left me a clue. Another friend of mine then cemented the link and told me that you also killed many others. N others to be exact. If this kingdom burns, you are the sole person responsible," Karim snorted, "But you want that, don't you. To make way for your son."

Akhnaden growled, "You foul child! Damn half-breed, I should have killed you when I had the chance. Not that I don't today." A soldier ran and grabbed the Scales from his hand.

Karim's expression remained. A few more men were devoured by Ammit. "You honestly thought I would use that after I knew how it was made. It's a slap in the face to my goddess."

He started advancing toward Akhnaden. A group of soldiers charged at him. "Is this how you made them destroy that village? Hypnotism?" He sounded honestly curious. Then shrugged. A panther appeared in the middle of the formation and started attacking them. "Don't kill them, Bastet. The Pharaoh may still have some use for them."

"Is this a game to you?" Akhnaden demanded.

Anger entered Karim's voice and expression for the first time, "No. This is me punishing one of the foulest criminals in this kingdom. You've ruined so much, not just my life. Fratricide doesn't need to be added if you give me the antidote. Your punishment won't be as long."

He laughed, "Antidote? That old bastard is going to die. Then I'll get my hands on his son!"

"Have it your way then." Karim growled, about to start his judgement of Akhnaden.

"I wouldn't do that if you want your girlfriend to live."

Karim froze, "What do you mean?"

"You saw those soldiers. I mastered mind control long ago. I have one of my puppets close to her now. Stop using those blessed powers of yours and I'll let her live."

Karim reluctantly obeyed. 'I can't risk it right now. If he's right, Isis could die before I'm through with him."

Ma'at nodded, "Alright, be careful."

'I will.' "There. Satisfied?"

Suddenly, a pair of soldiers about his strength came up and took his down. They punched his gut to make him gasp for air. A liquid was poured down his throat. He coughed and caught his breath. "What did you shove down my throat?" His throat was burning as he spoke.

"The same poison my brother will die by. You have a week at most. You should feel your power diminish already. It would be easy for someone to kill you in that state."

Karim found he was right when he tried to access his stronger magic and could not. Ma'at gently commanded, "Save your strength, Karim. His time will come soon."

'I know. I just hate being so foolish some days.'

"You weren't foolish. Every threat he ushered was real. You acted the right way."

_**"You know, I could just fry him. It'd be so easy."**_

__'Except for the fact that this room is too small. And Isis is still at risk.'

_**"I'll get him someday. You wait," **_the dragon announced triumphantly

'We'll see.' Karim smiled inwardly.

He got up to leave, "Mark my words Akhnaden: Your actions will come back to haunt you."

The old man snorted, "You know nothing." Then he smiled insanely, "Perhaps, I should make it easier on your son and kill him now. You'll all be one big happy family."

Karim turned, "Akhnaden, I may be weakened, but if a single hair is harmed on my son, I **will** kill you with my own hands." Akhnaden looked at Karim's eyes and saw the seriousness.

"I could say the same to you."

"Why would I hurt Seto? I like him. I respect him. Don't even try to compare us, I know where you're going. I would never murder for my son to have a better career. Besides, you've alienated him on your own." Karim went up the stairs and tried to sleep.

Morning came too soon. Karim sat up. He could feel how much strength he'd already lost. He began to regret not killing Akhnaden. Ma'at told him sternly, "Don't even start. You were the better man. You were above murdering. You are guiltless. His heart is like a stone, there is no turning back for him. He will fail my judgement."

'Thanks, Ma'at.'

He got up and went across the hall to Isis' room. She was still asleep. He crawled in bed beside her. She soon woke up and saw him. She shot up in bed and nearly jumped out. He smiled, "Morning, Sunshine."

"Karim, what are you doing in my bed?" She asked in shock.

"Apparently waking you up."

She sighed, "Don't scare me like that." She saw the bags under his eyes. "Are you okay? You look so tired."

"I'm fine. Just a rough night that's all." He smiled reassuringly. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"Yes, but it's nice to let you remind me." Isis wrapped his arms around his neck. He leaned down to kiss her. Their mouths opened and they explored each others mouths.

They soon parted and she got around. Karim silently sighed before asking, "Isis, if something were to happen to me, would you help take care of Ani?"

She was surprised at the question, but had an answer ready, "Yes, of course."

He relaxed a bit, "Thank you, Isis. I'd do the same thing for you." He got up, "I'll let you finish getting ready." He gave her a quick kiss, "My beautiful priestess."

She nuzzled in the crook of his neck. She heard him sigh contently.

The Pharaoh died around midday. Atem was crowned. A celebration occurred the next day, which the Thief King interrupted. After he escaped, Karim volunteered to scout the area and see if he was still nearby.

Karim got on a horse and went to the cliffs first. He found the thief hiding in an alcove. He called to him gently, noticing a change in demeanor, "Angelus, come out here."

The thief looked up, but stayed in the spot, "You know my name. Who told you my name?" The man's voice came out quietly and quite a bit less insane and angry than before. Karim knew he made the right conclusion.

"An old friend of yours. Amarosa." Karim saw the man smile

"So you're the priest she had a crush on. She still talks about you. I'm sorry to say she left Egypt. I heard she offered you passage as well."

"You still talk to her? When she talked to me, it sounded like she hadn't seen you in a while."

"She sent Malik and me letters. We were raised together for a bit." He sighed, "She was right about you. You are different from the other priests. Any one else would've killed me on sight."

"She told me about you and your situation. I have to let you go. If I take you back that thing will just take you over again."

"It's called Zorc." His voice sounded hoarse, as if saying it's name would awaken it.

" Any advice about it?"

"Yeah, don't get possessed. Being tortured for years is probably more enjoyable. It's not at full power yet. It has to go through some sort of revival process." He sighed shakily, "I made Ama leave. It hates her. I thought it would kill her. And it can leave it's influence without leaving a mark." A lonely sadness appeared in his indigo eyes.

"Who?" Karim asked softly.

"Malik. His hair's all spiked up now and he kills for fun. The damn thing took me over before I could even attempt to stop it. I've done by best to keep Malik from the palace and his sister. He's already killed his father."

Karim told him strongly, "You have an ally in me. I'll find a way to stop this."

Angelus smiled a bit, "Thanks. You should be going. They're probably looking for you."

"Yeah. One more thing. What about Diabound?"

"It's an extension of Zorc. Kill Diabound, do little damage to Zorc, but kill Zorc, kill Diabound."

"It's never easy is it?"

"Not for outcasts like us."

He turned to leave, "My name's Karim, by the way." When he returned to the palace, he reported finding nothing.

The next day was hell. Karim was weakened even more. Mahad left that night to find the thief and return the former king's mummy. Karim was waiting in his room when Ma'at spoke to him, "Karim, Mahad has failed." He sighed.

The guards returned Mahad's stone to the palace. Everyone was leaving when Kairm saw a figure beckon over to him. When he got closer he saw a familiar face. "Kage, you were told."

"What was he doing?"

"He was trying to stop the thief who is possessed by an evil entity. Kage, I know it's tough, but at least he's not dead."

"He might as well be." The man started crying, "He should have known better than to use a stone. He shouldn't have used a hunter's trap."

Karim let his confusion show, "The stone is how the others seal away evil ka. This is how hunter's capture Duel Monsters."

Kage looked grave, "Yes. One of your priests must be a hunter and veiled the trap under a benign name. This doesn't help us at all."

"Us? You're a Duel Monster? But Mahad never showed his..."

Kage cut him off, "Mahad forgot when he was kidnapped. His powers were separated from him somehow. His so-called ka was his powers. When he merged with it, he regained his true form. I sent him a letter."

"We haven't gotten mail in a while."

"The hunter is blocking communication."

"And I have a good idea who."

Kage talked quieter, "Heka told me the thief also had suppressed powers. That thing that's possessing him must be keeping them repressed."

Karim nodded, "Thanks, Kage. I have to go. Be careful."

Karim was killed the next day. He had given his last bit of strength to Shadah and made Isis reaffirm her promise. He tried to cross over, but found he could not.

"OK, I'm pretty sure my body just died." He looked back and saw Isis crying over him. "Yep, confirmed. Pretty sure I'd pass judgement. Pretty sure dead people are supposed to head toward the light. What's going on?"

Ma'at answered him, "I'm sorry, Karim. You are not done yet."

"Oh, am I about to come back alive and scare everyone?"

She told him sadly, "No."

"I'm a ghost?"

"Yes."

"Crap. For how long?"

"I'm not sure, Karim. Please, don't be angry."

"I'm not angry. Just a little disappointed." He looked back toward the group. He saw Seto look at him, not his body, him.

"Hey, guess who sees dead people," Karim smiled to himself. He watched Seto's face pale. "He hears them too." Seto looked away and muttered to himself about hallucinations.

Eventually, the Dark Priest separated Seto from the group. Seto overcame the priest with the help of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Isis came up to him afterward. "Where's the Pharaoh?" he asked her.

Isis looked sadly at Seto, "I'm looking at him."

Seto sighed and saw the box with the broken Puzzle inside. "What a price to pay. Put the Puzzle in his tomb. Scatter these damn Items, may they never gather again."

Seto became Pharaoh shortly after. He sat alone in his room. They had just buried Atem, Simon, and Shadah. They were digging Karim's body out of the rubble.

A cool breezed passed him. He did not acknowledge it. Karim sighed, 'Alright, I'll be a little more direct.' The spirit kneeled in front of him, inches separating them.

Seto felt the presence and assumed it was one of his priests, most likely Mana. He looked up.

Karim smiled, "Boo."

Seto jumped back and said, "Why won't these visions go away?"

Karim shrugged, "Well, there's a good possibility that they're not visions and I'm stuck here. And let me tell you, being ignored is very frustrating, especially when people walk through you. A warning would be nice."

Seto calmed down, "Why are you stuck? And why not go see your girlfriend?"

"According to Ma'at, I'm not done. Since my body and soul together are blessed, I need both to help fight this evil. And Isis scares too easily. I prefer he last memory of me to be living."

"So, I'm guessing you need my help."

"Yeah, it's nothing too big. Just don't let them start the mummification process on my body. Use magic to keep it as is and keep thieves out. Goddess' orders." He added with a smile.

Seto smiled as well, "I will. I guess you can't reincarnate properly like everyone else."

"Thanks, Seto."

A/N: DC = 111. I'm not counting Mahad, Karim, or the Thief for reasons to come. There this made up for all the lack of update. So next time we finally get into the modern world where the majority of the story takes place. New characters! New happenings! Closing Theme: What Do You Do With A B.A. In English/ It Sucks To Be Me from Avenue Q.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Hello all! I have absolutely nothing to say right now ^__^;. So I'll get right to it. Opening Theme: The Fantasy by 30 Seconds to Mars

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

"_**The Dragon"**_

Disclaimer: My stories are inches from being original and complete ownership on my part. Unfortunately, I borrowed a few too many characters, as in almost all of them. It can never be mine, can it?

----Fast Forward-----

While he was a ghost, Karim decided to watch over his son and occasionally offer Seto advice. He tried to keep track of his family, but eventually lost track over time, as people left and returned. Karim then went on to travel the world, picking up numerous languages as he travelled. Empires rose and fell, war and peace broke out, new lands were discovered, and inventions were made. Every now and then, someone would see him or he thought he recognized one of his friends reincarnated. He mostly kept to himself and learned how to access his soul room at any time.

Karim eventually headed to modern Egypt. He kept to the smaller towns, close to the old capital and the Valley of the Dead. Modern Egypt was much different from the ancient culture. The same could be said for much of the world, but he forced himself to adjust, just not too much.

He was sitting by the river in one of these small towns. This town had a name, but he forgot it. He chose to call it by its original name. This town housed the unclaimed items and ghosts of an atrocity long ago.

Karim suddenly felt the activation of two of the items. He stood up and went to see who had grabbed them. He was surprised to see it was the Key and the Scales that had been chosen. The bigger surprise was who was holding them. It was a child, too young to be exposed to such magic, but nonetheless was fascinated by the golden objects. The child was a boy with short black hair and expressive blue eyes, dressed in an outfit he'd come to associate with Europe and North America. Karim noticed the shimmering eyes focusing on him.

Karim knelt down to the boy's level, causing a grin to cross the boy's face. As Karim got close to the boy he noticed the resemblance to Shadah, but also the differences. He quickly looked around and saw they were alone. "Hi. What's your name?"

"My name's Shadi Ishtar. Who are you, Mr. Ghost?"

"My name's Karim. How'd you know I'm a ghost?"

"The men said the ghost didn't like them and came down to bother them whenever they did stuff with the items. You came here when I picked them up."

"Well, these men try to use the items for bad things. Oh, Shadi, please don't use my name around them, alright? I don't want them to know who I am."

The boy nodded, "OK. Will you tell me why?"

Karim ruffled the boy's hair, mildly surprised he could touch him, "Maybe when you're older. How old are you, anyway?"

"I'm four. Just like my sister," he said proudly.

"You have a twin sister? What's her name?"

"Her name's Ishizu and I have an older brother named Rishid and maybe a little brother. Mommy was pregnant, but she made me leave home 'cuz she didn't want Daddy to find me."

Karim let his confusion show, "Why?"

Shadi shrugged, "I dunno. Something 'bout a Tomb Keeper's In-ish-she-ay-shun." Karim's eyes widened. He had witnessed said Initiation and learned about Atem's memories and the so-called "god cards." He had been thoroughly disgusted at the method and suffering.

"Shadi, did your mom say anything about the others coming?"

He smiled and nodded, "She said her and Ishizu and Rishid and my little brother were coming soon. She said in about a week and to keep looking for her."

Karim nodded, "Alright. Tell you what, how about I stay with you until your mom comes and keep on eye on you. And maybe even after that if you want me to. We can be friends."

They boy's eyes sparkled, "Best friends?"

Karim chuckled, "Sure. Best friends."

Shadi hugged Karim. Karim gently returned the embrace, 'I think things just got interesting.'

Nearly two weeks had gone by. Shadi's family had yet to be seen. Karim noticed Shadi becoming upset. An idea occurred to him, "Shadi, I could go back to your home and see what's going on. Would that make you feel better?" The boy hugged Karim and started thanking him repeatedly.

After gaining Shadi's description of where to look, Karim ventured out. It didn't take him long to find the ruins and he went down into the tomb. He wandered and eventually found little Ishizu. She was a spitting image of Isis. Karim smiled to himself, 'So you've all decided to come back. Yet none of you will remember each other or me." He snapped out of his revery when Ishizu looked up at him and gave him a charming smile.

He went a little closer, but before he could say a word she said, "My name's Ishizu. You know, you look good for a ghost," she giggled. Karim felt a slight blush try to emerge. "My name's Karim. I'm a friend of Shadi. Where are your mother and brothers?" Ishizu's eyes misted. 'Oh no, something must have happened to the baby.' "Ishizu, please tell me what happened," he said gently with sympathy.

She sniffed a little, "Right after Marik was born, me and Rishid went in to see her. She talked to Rishid for a minute and then she... she..." She broke down into sobs. Karim hugged her.

"Ishizu, does your father know about Marik?"

She nodded, "He was in the room the whole time. We can't leave now, except Rishid. Father says he's not part of our family cuz Mama found him by a welll, but that's not true. He'll always be my big brother."

Karim thought for a minute, "Women are allowed to leave when they're older. When you're around ten, maybe eleven, he'll let you outside. Just remember, Shadi and I are over in the closest town. We'll see each other again," he smiled at her. She nodded and wiped her tears. "I have to go back, Ishizu. I'll try to come again."

He returned to Shadi. He saw the smiling boy and his heart ached. He sat beside him, "Shadi, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you have a baby brother named Marik. The bad news..." he sighed, "the bad news is your mother didn't make it. I'm sorry, Shadi. I'm so sorry."

He drew the boy close to him and let him cry. He rubbed the boy's back in a futile attempt to comfort him. Shadi eventually fell asleep on Karim. Karim smiled sadly at him and put the boy to bed. He lay next to the boy.

Shadi was depressed for a few weeks after his mother's death. Karim stayed close to Shadi during this time. He remembered how he felt after his own mother's death. Thankfully, Shadi didn't keep his emotions bottled up.

After a while, Shadi was able to move on. It was one day after this Karim spotted Rishid in town and sent Shadi over to him. He hung back a bit and let Shadi talk to his brother on his own. However, he decided to eavesdrop a bit and noticed the conversation wasn't always in Egyptian. Karim listened closer and recognized the French language. Shadi would let loose a stream of French and Rishid would attempt to answer in the same language.

When Rishid realized he had to head back to the tomb. Shadi hugged him tightly before running back to Karim. Karim smiled at the boy, "Everything alright?"

Shadi nodded excitedly, "Rishid says everyone's doing OK and father never found out about me."

"That's good."

"Did you ever have to worry about someone finding you, Karim?"

Karim froze as the memories returned. He bit his lip while deliberating how to answer. He sighed, "One time, when I was young, some men treated me horribly. They hurt me pretty bad. My friends helped me escape and I had to hide in a secret room for a few days. My dad's friends eventually found me and those men had been forced out."

"That sounds awful," Shadi grabbed Karim's hand.

Karim smiled, "It was bad, but it was a long time ago. I got better and stronger."

"Are your friends here?"

"I don't know," Karim shrugged, "By the way, who taught you French?"

Shadi half-smiled, "Mama did. She was half-French and spent a lot of time there before she met Daddy. She taught us all Egyptian and French, but didn't tell father. Ishizu was teaching herself with some books, too. We kept them hidden."

"Would you like to keep learning French?"

"Yes, but who can teach it here?"

Karim smiled and answered in French, "I will teach you. I will teach you this and so much more."

Shadi hugged Karim and thanked him in both languages.

Karim heard the dragon tell him, _**"He's not Ani. And he's not Shadah either."**_

'I know that. He can never be either of them. Yet...'

_**"You feel the boy will be significant later? You've tried this before."**_

'I know. But this time feels different.'

_**"He reminds you of you, doesn't he?"**_

'He's already lost his mother. Someone should protect him.'

The dragon chuckled softly, but sounded approving when he said, _**"Softie."**_

'I'll take that as good luck.'

----Small Fast Forward----

Years went by. Karim slept in his soul room and Shadi was fluent in Egyptian, French and English. He had started learning Japanese. He was twelve. Karim and Shadi had discovered they're telepathic link and Karim had accidently possessed Shadi's body once. The only difference was Shadi's eyes turned emerald. Shadi had continued to wear European clothing.

One day the two were wandering around town. Suddenly, a girl who appeared lost in thought passed them. She quickly said, "Pardon me, sirs," and went between them. Shadi quickly looked around and noticed Karim was the only one anywhere near him.

Shadi spoke through the mind link, /Let's follow that girl. She looked like she need help./

Karim smirked, /And she could see me. Not too many admit to that./

/Let's hurry before we lose her./ They ran off trying to find her. She went into a little restaurant that carried a broad variety of native and foreign food. He saw her sit at a table. Shadi made a quick stop at the counter to get karkady and profiteroles au chocolat.

The woman behind the counter smiled at him, "The usual, eh? They're better when you're working. Funny thing is that girl just ordered the same thing. Pretty thing. Do you know her?"

Shadi looked at the girl, "No, but I think I'm about to."

The old lady winked at him, "Well, if nothing else, you two can be good friends." She chuckled and Karim nearly laughed when Shadi turned a magnificent Scarlet.

/Shut up!/

Karim tried to look innocent. /I didn't say anything./

/Then you were thinking it quite loudly./

/Red is a great color for you./

/Be glad I don't want to punch air in public./

Karim laughed.

Shadi shook his head and walked over to the girl. "Excuse me, miss. Is it alright if I join you?"

She gave him a quick glance and said, "Doesn't your friend need a chair, too?"

He smiled, "No."

"That seems rude."

Karim decided to add, "Not when solid objects occasionally remind me I'm not."

She shot her head up and looked at him, "Karim!?"

Shadi turned, "You know her!?"

Karim looked at them both, "I do?" He looked at her face. Blue eyes met his and he recognized familiar features, "Dear Ra, Ishizu?"

Shadi looked at her, "Ishizu?" He switched to French, "Are you really my sister?"

She smiled and answered back in French, "Yes, Shadi, I am."

He set his food down and hugged her. He glared at Karim. /You and the old lady tried to hook me up with my sister./

/Whoops./

/Is that all you have to say for yourself?/

/Hey, I didn't recognize her. Honest mistake./

/Yeah, I guess you're right./

/I just thought you'd like a pretty girl in your life.../

/Shut up!/

Karim chuckled at how easy Shadi got flustered. Ishizu looked puzzled at the sudden laughter. Karim said "Tell you later," as Shadi said, "Don't ask." She giggled.

They sat down again and Ishizu told him about what happened in the tomb and Shadi told her about the tablet and the crazy men and how he got by.

Finally he asked, "Ishizu, have you considered escaping with Marik and Rishid?"

She nodded, "That's why I'm here. I'm trying to find a place to stay and a job. Rishid said he would find one after we moved. It wouldn't be so hard for him. He's gotten really strong."

"I'll help. I have plenty of time to find the right place. I'm trying to get away from those men. I don't like whatever they're up to."

"Oh thank you, Shadi."

"Does Marik know about me?"

She blushed, "Umm, no. Sorry. I'll tell him when I go back."

"He doesn't want to move in with a stranger. Tell him about our friend here," he pointed to Karim.

Karim added, "Don't use my name. If he tells the wrong person..."

Ishizue smiled and nodded, "I understand. Shadi, do you know anywhere I could work?"

"Oh yeah. I work here. Turns out I can cook pretty well. They're some merchants down the road who would be more than happy to teach you they're trades."

"I'll head up there and look."

"Good luck."

"I'll see you soon, both of you."

"Hopefully, very soon," Shadi smiled as she left.

Shadi and Karim headed back to the underground. When they got to the door, Shadi froze and then sat down unceremoniously. He leaned against the wall and brought his knees up to his chest, placing his head on them.

Karim knelt beside him, /Are you OK?/

/Give me a minute./

/What's wrong?/ he persisted

/I don't know. I felt like something bad was happening./

/Like a premonition?/

/No, like it already happened. It's weird./ He stood up. /I feel better now. Let's go./

/OK/ Karim closed the ling and sighed, 'This isn't good. He's starting to get glimpses of his previous life and what happened here.'

_**"Well you knew it would happen."**_ the dragon commented nonchalantly

'Yes, but not so soon. He's still a child. And if his sister starts seeing this stuff with the Tauk in tomb...'

_**"Scarred for life. So what will you do Mr. Hero?"**_

'I don't know, but something will happen.' Karim looked at Shadi and then looked to the sky, as if waiting for an answer.

A/N: No, you will not get any French or Egyptian statements in this story. I know next to nothing about them. I find it funny how everyone's name in this chapter has a red line underneath it. Next chapter will get the ball rolling for modern times. Closing theme: Johanna from Sweeney Todd (the movie).


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Hey, less than a week this time! I'll try to get at least one more update in this week. Next week probably won't have an update. I'm getting Lasik surgery and won't be able to see quite right for a couple days most likely. They said I'm supposed to take it easy and sleep a lot so writing at midnight or 1 is out. I'll make up for it as soon as I'm recovered; I promise. Opening Theme: Stand Alone by Iced Earth.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

"_**The Dragon"**_

/Mind link/

Disclaimer: I have lots of rights. The right of ownership is not among these rights.

Shadi and Ishizu continued meeting. After they turned fourteen, he met up with her and placed some papers in front of her, grinning broadly. She began to look through them and realized they were papers for a small home. Ishizu hugged Shadi, tear of joy running down her face. "How did you do it?"

"A guy comes in here regularly and he's gotten to know us all. I told him I needed a place for my family and he said as long as we pay him every month we can move in."

"When do we have to move in?"

"Sometime next week. If we're not in by then, another family will take it."

"I'll go home and tell Rishid. I'm going to surprise Marik. It's perfect timing. Marik's birthday is next Saturday, so we have to move before then." They continued to make arrangements and agreed to meet Thursday night.

Shadi was finishing packing Wednesday night. He turned out his light and waited until the rest went out for a bit. He slipped silently out of his room and through the corridors to the stair case. He was about to ascend it when Karim was suddenly pinned to the wall. Karim yelled, "Shadi, run!" and continued to struggle against his magical bonds.

Shadi began running up the stairs when a couple of the men intercepted him. He managed to break through them and was nearly out when more men appeared, overpowering him. Shadi thrashed against them, trying to break free. They put the boy on a slab and tied him down.

"Let me go. You don't own me." Shadi shouted at them and noticed Karim was having difficulties dispelling the magic around him.

One of the men smirked, "We don't own you yet. Don't worry about your friend; he's a captive audience." The man laughed as Shadi tried to undo the bonds.

The men surrounded they boy and began chanting. Karim listened to the spell, searching his memory for anything similar. He caught a phrase of it, 'Fuck, it's a possession spell. I don't know the counter and I'm still struggling with this one on me.'

He watched Shadi resist, but eventually he failed and his eyes slipped shut. The men made Shadi's body become an adult form and traditional clothes appeared on him. When his eyes opened, Karim could see they were clouded and blank. 'If I can get Shadi to repossess his body, or if I can, I bet the spell will diffuse,' Karim mused to himself.

_**"I remember this spell. It's one the evil priest used once. This is the one where they control the body and can affect the soul as well."**_

__Realization struck Karim hard, 'This is the spell used to kill a person's soul so they have a puppet! They'll start hurting Shadi soon.'

Ma'at added, "They can't do that constantly, as it wears on their magic as well. During these breaks, one of you can possess the body and it will return to its proper state. And like Akhnadin, or actually Zorc, did, once he is through with the puppet, the boy may still be alive."

'Shit, I need to get back to him. I have to make sure he's okay. But, first I need out of this hold.'

_**"Why don't you try the curse breaker? Can't do any harm."**_

'Good idea,' Karim agreed. He concentrated on the counter-curse and the bonds disappeared. He fell to his knees. 'I forgot how much energy that takes. I'll need to get stronger before I attempted anything much bigger.' Karim then disappeared into his soul room.

Karim opened his eyes and immediately looked toward the door. He could see a hallway, across which was the door to Shadi's room, currently open. He dashed over and saw the boy sitting on a bed with a handmade quilt on it. Scattered around the room were photography supplies, Shadi's favorite hobby and dream job. A copy of Les Miserables was on a table beside the bed.

Karim sat next to the boy, placing an arm around his shoulders, "Are you OK?" he asked softly.

Shadi nodded before resting his head on Kairm's shoulder. Shadi sighed, "So much for that plan. Please go tell Ishizu what happened. Tell her...tell her I'm sorry."

Karim looked into his eyes and saw tears starting to form. "I will, but I'm sure she's already forgiven you." He let go of Shadi and left saying, "I'll be back soon, but don't be afraid to call me back if you need me." Shadi nodded. After Karim left, he broke down into sobs.

Karim found Ishizu quickly and told her what happened. "He is forgiven, he had no control over that. I wasn't sure if we could do it, anyway. Father is keeping an eye on Marik. I just wished it could have worked out. It's what Mom wanted," Ishizu blinked away tears.

Karim hugged her, "I'll do my best to free him. Just remember, when you see him possessed he doesn't look the same at all."

She nodded, "Take care of him. Something tells me trouble is brewing." He nodded and hugged her once more before leaving.

When he returned to the soul room, Shadi had fallen asleep on top of the blanket, tear stains still fresh on his cheeks. He smiled melancholily and gently got the blanket from underneath him and placed it over him. Karim went back to his own room to sleep.

Life continued quietly until a year later. For some reason, the men had sent the body to decided to see why and projected himself. Ishizu and a blonde boy were in front of him. 'Oh, crap,' was Karim's first thought, especially when he listened to the conversation and Ishizu never looked at him.

Shadi had discovered a way to see what the body was doing while trapped in his mind. He saw her and Marik and immediately began trying to break free. He felt the usual bouts of energy loss and tougher possession that happened when they realized he was fighting them. He continued to struggle against it until he realized his sibling had left.

Surprisingly, the body was then teleported somewhere. Shadi looked, recognizing the tomb of his childhood. His dead father was in the arms of his bloody younger brother. Shadi gasped. He heard the phrase "will of the Pharaoh" and looked right at Marik. Anger and hatred at the Pharaoh he believed killed his father were directed right a him. Tears began falling from Shadi's blue eyes.

Karim had been watching quietly and decided to comfort him now, "Shadi, he doesn't know any better. Don't take it personally. You couldn't do anything to stop this."

Shadi faced him, sorrow and fury mixing, "There was plenty. If I had fought them off a year ago, this wouldn't have happened. Marik wouldn't have to worry about some dam Pharaoh and Father would still be alive. Even today, I could have broken through and stopped this."

"And he doesn't have a clue who I could be. Ishizu was supposed to tell him. She didn't recognize me either, after you told her. Why!?"

"Plus, there's you. You could have talked to her. Why didn't you?"

Karim was initially speechless. He had never seen Shadi this angry, especially at him. Those blue eyes seemed to hurt his heart. He found his voice and sighed, "I had as much warning as you did. Ishizu didn't even look at me. Something's wrong. They might have blocked me temporarily, too." He stopped when Shadi started crying. Karim approached him and held him close, noticing Shadi was nearly as tall as his shoulder. "If you want me to I can try to talk to her later." Shadi nodded and put his face in the crook of Karim's neck. Karim felt Shadi go limp and caught him, 'He's used a lot of energy. Let's hope his sleep is easier.' He put Shadi in bed and whispered, "Apology accepted."

Karim went to the tomb and heard near silence. 'Where is everyone?' He peered into a couple rooms that looked like they had been hastily cleared out. He heard quiet sobbing nearby.

He peeked around a corner and saw Ishizu. He listened, "Rishid, Marik, where did you go? How could you leave me?"

Karim saw the light reflect off something on her neck. He looked closer. It was a gold chain. 'Oh, goody. Every upset girl should have a Millenium Item. Fuck my life.' He got closer to her and said gently, "Ishizu, can you hear me?"

He head shot up and she looked at him. "Oh, Karim. I...didn't see you there," she started wiping the tears away.

"No, it's fine. I just got here. Your brothers left? After Marik killed your dad?"

She winced, "Yes. I tried to find them, but this thing wouldn't show me where'd they'd be in the near future," she indicated the Necklace. "Wait, how do you know-unless you were-oh no."

"Yeah, that was us. You couldn't see me at all?"

"No. Is Shadi alright?"

"Sort of. Those men drained him of any excess energy he had. Seeing all this caused him as much pain as any attack. He had a bit of a meltdown, blaming you, me, and himself. He took it all back right afterward, but he's exhausted."

She listened quietly absorbing it all. Karim took time to really look at her. She appeared slightly shorter than Shadi and she had matured beautifully. However, he felt no attraction toward her as he had with Isis. He shrugged it off, reminding himself they were different people.

/Karim?/ Shadi said over the link.

/Yeah, what's up?/

/Where are you?/

/I'm with your sister. Are you OK?/

/I don't know. I woke up with these bruises./

/Bruises? Where?/ Karim started worrying.

/My arms and legs./

/Near joints?/

/Yeah./

'Fuck.' /I'll be there in a minute./

/Alright, but I'm fine./

Karim turned his attention back to Ishizu, "Sorry, I have to go back. Get out of here. Find a job and a place, OK? Take care of yourself, please."

"OK. I hope I see you and Shadi soon."

"Perhaps if we're lucky," he hugged her.

He quickly returned to Shadi. "Show me those marks."

Shadi rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, "It's not that serious, really. I probably did it earlier."

Karim inspected the bruises. They were a bright purple on his tan skin. Their proximity to joints probably made it slightly painful to move. 'They've finally turned to physical attacks. I can't leave him alone.'

He talked to Shadi about what his sister said and settled into a chair. He kept talking so Shadi wouldn't notice he was staying. He kept a constant vigil on the boy when he slept.

This went on for a few days before Shadi notice how tired Karim was. Shadi confronted him, "Have you been sleeping?"

Karim shook his head, "I'm fine though."

"No, you're not. Karim, please rest," Shadi pleaded.

"No, I'm fine."

Shadi thought he looked weak. He had a sudden thought of a younger Karim passing out, then it flitted away. Karim was standing up. "Karim, no!" Shadi shouted, but too late. The man had started to collapse. Shadi caught him and found himself checking Karim for fever. Shadi reprimanded himself, 'He's not sick. What am I doing?' but he felt slightly relieved.

Shadi dragged the man over to his own room and managed to get him in bed. He looked around and saw the river in his room and a strangely familiar boat. The sky in the room was currently a night sky, full of stars and a full moon shined.

Shadi closed his eyes for a minute to take in the peaceful air of the room. He listened to the river, but then heard footsteps and a purring sound. He opened his eyes and saw a black panther looking at him, head slightly turned to the side, interested in the new comer.

"Hello there. I suppose Karim likes his cats big," he smiled and held out his hand. The cat stood still. "I won't hurt you." The cat nudged the hand before deciding it like him and jumped on the be between Karim and Shadi.

"He passed out over there. He's overtired. Will you keep an eye on him until he wakes up?" The cat looked at Shadi before settling down deeper in the bed. Shadi smiled, "Thanks." He got up and left.

When he safely returned to his room he though to himself, 'I just held a conversation with a panther. Look what you do to me, Karim.' He settled back in his bed and thought he heard a woman say thank you. He shrugged and said, "You're welcome," before going to sleep.

Karim awoke to a loud purring in his ear. He looked at the cat who was nearly on top of him. "Bastet, please move. I like to breathe without cat hair." The cat looked at him and started licking his arms and face, "Ah! Stop it. You are not a dog. Why do you have tuna breath? Down, girl."

He became aware of a second presence. He saw his ka, Halima. "I don't need a male lion with wings on top of me as well. Be helpful and get her to stop." Unfortunately, Halima decided not to listen. "Ugh. Ra, when did you get so heavy? OK, this is a small bed. Three of us do not fit, so get down."

He heard the Dragon chuckle. "Why don't you stop laughing and help me?"

_**"Why don't you consider yourself lucky to be conscious?"**_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_**"It means you passed out in the boy's room two days ago and if he hadn't brought you over here immediately you could have enjoyed a lovely coma."**_

"Because I wasn't resting well?"

_**"Because you were expending energy and not recovering it like when you do sleep."**_

"OK, not one of my brightest ideas. Did he see you?"

_**"No you want him to?"**_ the Dragon asked incredulously

"No, just wondering," Karim said. He then saw Ma'at walking towards him. 'I'm in deep shit now.'

The cats moved off of him so Ma'at could sit beside him. He felt worry instead of anger coming from her. She reached over and held Karim in an embrace. He relaxed. She asked him quietly, "You're feeling better I take it?"

"Yes, much." He couldn't lie to Her.

"You're lucky the boy acted as quickly as he did."

"Why?"

"Your fainting caused him to flashback momentarily."

Karim remembered how sick he had been. Shadah had let Karim stay in his room more than once. He remembered the high fever and tendency to pass out at any time. Shadah had been the one to discover how bad his fever was. "He's fine, right?"

"Thankfully, yes. Karim, you must know your limits. Who knows what could happen next time."

He sighed, "I know. I just wanted him to be safe. Guess I can't do that if I keep knocking myself out. I'll be careful."

"Thank you, Karim."

"Will you please help me up? I need to let him know I'm awake before they sit on me again."

"Of course." She got him out of bed. He threw on the armband and cloak before the cats could react.

He saw Shadi lying awake in bed, staring into space.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Karim asked innocently like a child.

Shadi snapped his head to look at Karim and sat up in bed, relaxing. "Karim, you're awake. That's great," he said, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You and your sister have the same look when you're surprised. All big eyed like I'm gonna eat you," he smirked.

Shadi smirked back, "That's because we both know you're not above cannibalism."

"Tastes like chicken."

Shadi threw a pillow at Karim, "Sicko."

Karim came over to him, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, nothing really happened," he said, looking Karim in the eyes.

'Liar,' Karim thought. He thought he saw a few new marks on the boy, but decided Shadi didn't want to worry him. "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Really."

"Alright. Do you want me to stay here?"

"Will you be fine?" Shadi asked, worry in his eyes.

"Yes, just let me sleep."

"Then yes, please."

Karim settled next to Shadi in the bed. The boy started leaning into him. Shadi soon fell asleep. Karim shook his head and smiled.

A/N: DC: 112. At least you can't say I'm breaking canon. I'm just adding to it and maybe tweaking it a bit. For those of you who haven't seen yet, my profile was re-done to give a better description of the story. Also, new LJ account for fic updates: bld_and_ink. Closing Theme: The Boy Who Wanted to be a Real Puppet by Sonata Arctica.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Wow, guys, incredibly sorry. I explain the delay in my recent LJ post, which is handily linked in my profile. Expect to get more updates out of that account about when the next chapter is coming, particularly when college starts. OK, no guarantees about how long this chapter will be. Yeah, this is all think as I go/improv basically. That sentence is extremely redundant so I'm more tired than I thought. Listening to music on YouTube tonight. Opening Theme: Biohazard 3 (Resident Evil 3) Sountrack-Don't Lose Courage.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

"_**The Dragon"**_

/Mind link/

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is debt, lots and lots of debt. Curse you necessary higher education!!

**Warnings (slightly spoiler-ish): **Sexual Assault/Attempted Rape.

Two years had flown by fast. Karim had not been able to contact Ishizu. He stayed with Shadi most of the time, as beating had become more frequent. Now they were using more forceful attacks and Shadi's torso was now a target.

The boy was lying in bed to recover. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain, and some blood oozed out of a gash. He let out a small cry. Karim heard and ran over. 'They're whipping him! He can't take that right now. I have to make them stop.'

Shadi received a few more blows before they stopped hitting him, but he could still hear flesh being torn. He opened his eyes. Karim was over him, his back taking the blows. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you," he said, wincing as the blows struck him. Karim hid his pain, a difficult feat. The blows were cutting open his old scars, exactly as they had been millennia ago. 'Lucky shots. It almost feels like they're doing it on purpose. But there's no way they could know, is there?'

Karim gave up his musings for now and began concentrating a spell in his hand. Shadi looked at the forming spell. It looked like a fireball. Karim threw it up to where the blows were originating. The small flame became larger, to a familiar looking flame. 'Dragon fire is very hot.'

_**"Is that our revelation for the day? This is why you never used that spell. You were afraid it'd be too hot."**_

'I don't remember asking for commentary,' he grumbled back. He started to move off Shadi, 'Ow. That hurts just as much as it used to.'

"Karim, are you ok?" Shadi asked.

"Yeah, I will be. Wish I'd done that sooner," he smiled. 'Don't let Shadi see your back, whatever you do.'

"Karim, let me fix your back."

"No, it's fine." 'That's a really bad idea.'

"No, it's not. I can see you're in pain. Please," he insisted, concerned.

"Shadi, it's really fine. I-" the boy ducked out from underneath him. Karim moved just as fast, ignoring his aching muscles. He quickly cast an illusion over his back.

"Let me see," Shadi demanded.

"I already healed it. See?" Karim turned around and showed him the 'healed' wounds and a back without scars. He turned back around, "Now, lay down and let me get yours."

Satisfied, Shadi lay back down. Karim easily healed the wounds. After he was done, he put a hand on Shadi's shoulder, "I think we both could use some rest. I'm going to lay down in my room, if that's alright with you."

"Yes, please rest."

"I will. You get some sleep yourself," he brought the blanket up to Shadi's shoulder. Shadi nodded and fell asleep shortly after Karim left the room.

Karim lay on his chest in bed. He turned to Ma'at, "Will you please heal my back? I didn't want Shadi to remember that."

"Of course. That was a wise decision."

The days went by quietly after that. Both men were suspicious, but thankful for the reprieve.

It was Shadi's seventeenth birthday. There had been no activity during the day. Shadi was asleep in bed. Karim was in his own room.

The door to Shadi's room was eased shut and locked. Neither stirred. One of the men had decided to risk materializing himself into Shadi's room. He snuck over to the bed and bound Shadi's hands and feet.

Shadi began waking after the binds were on. 'What's going on?' He saw the man at the base of his bed.

"Good. You're awake. It's more fun that way."

'What's more fun? Why am I tied? Oh, shit!'

The man climbed on top of him. Shadi tried to struggle out of it.

"Struggle all you want, you're not going anywhere." The man crammed his lips against Shadi's and forced his tongue in his mouth. Shadi tried to pull away, but he was too close to his pillow and could not. /Karim, help me./ The link was being blocked and he heard his message be stopped.

"Don't worry, there won't be any interruptions." The man moved down to Shadi's neck. Shadi panicked.

The man forced his tongue in Shadi's mouth again and place his hands around Shadi's shirt collar. /Karim, Karim, help!/ he tried again. The man tore Shadi's shirt open. He started kissing along his breast bone and tweaked his nipples.

"You're just as delicious as I thought," he grinned madly. Shadi's eyes filled with horror. "And now for the main course," he glanced at Shadi's zipper.

/Karim!/ he screamed across the link and wasn't sure if it went through or not. The man's hands ran along his hips before going for the fly.

The door burst open before the man could touch the zipper and was sent flying off Shadi. A dragon-eyed Karim glared at the man. The man tried to summon monsters. Karim ran and covered Shadi before the dragon blasted the man out of existence.

Karim blinked his eyes normal before looking at Shadi. Shadi's face was in Karim's neck and Karim could feel liquid on his skin. Karim untied the bonds and took the scraps of the shirt off Shadi. He wrapped his arms around the older man, still crying.

Karim looked at the boy for a minute before gently picking him up. He carried Shadi to his own room. He laid the boy in bed next to him. Shadi soon cried himself into sleep.

He began to look over the poor boy. His lips were bruised and a spot on his neck had begun turning dark. He could see similar marks on the boy's chest.

Karim sighed to himself, 'If I had gotten there any later...'

_**"So I take it he'll be staying here?"**_

__'He has to. After what just happened...' he sighed again, running a hand through his hair, 'He needs to be here right now.'

_**"Well, someone needs to be there."**_

__'You're right.' He motioned for Halima, "Bring me a shirt of his." The lion soon returned with a red hoodie. Karim gently put it on him. He turned back to his ka, "Will you please stay there for me?" The lion ran over and jumped up in the bed. "Thanks," he said, before laying next to Shadi.

Karim woke up first. He was on his side, facing Shadi. The boy was asleep on his arm and had curled into his chest. Karim's other arm had draped over the boy. He sighed softly, and laid still.

Shadi's blue eyes opened slowly. His throat was very dry, and he still felt tired.

Karim felt him stirring. He looked down and saw Shadi about to speak. "Don't talk, save your energy." Shadi laid back in the bed. Karim grabbed a glass of water. "Here, drink," he said gently.

Shadi smiled a little as he took the glass. He drank and could taste that it was river water, but was deliciously clean and pure. His throat felt immensely better. Shadi's eyes started to close again.

Karim took the glass. "Go back to sleep. I'll be here," he smiled softly at him. He had soon drifted off.

When Shadi reawakened, he was alone in the bed. He felt better and energized. He sat up and saw Karim sitting by the river. He called over to him.

He got a bright smile in return, "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah. A lot better." Shadi got up and went over to where Karim was. He sat down beside him. The two sat there, staring into the water.

They both felt it. The body was free of possession. Shadi jumped up and gained control.

Karim projected himself outside, "Don't overdo it."

Shadi smiled, "I won't." His stomach growled, "I'm starving. Let's find somewhere to eat."

After a quick dinner, Shadi found a place with a shower. He washed himself clean. Then he made Karim take over for a minute.

Karim was pleasantly surprised at the new feeling. The water was warmer than any he'd been in and the pressure relaxed his muscles. He enjoyed it for a few minutes before allowing Shadi to take over again. "Thank you."

Shadi smiled, "Hey, it was the least I could do."

They were able to relax for a while longer before the group tried to repossess the body. Shadi put up a good fight and Karim backed him up. Unfortunately, the group won out in the end.

Karim looked at Shadi in the soul room, "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

Shadi nodded and yawned, "I'm going to bed. I'm worn."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

Shadi laid in bed, but didn't fall asleep. After a while, he heard Karim approaching. He pretended to sleep. The man turned his back to the other and started taking off the jewelry he always wore. After he removed an armband, Shadi thought he saw a scar. He didn't have time to contemplate, as the man took off the collar and cape. Shadi barely suppressed a gasp when he saw the numerous scars covering Karim's back. Then he realized what they were.

'Whiplashes? Did Karim get those because of...me?' He quickly shut his eyes and felt the man crawl in beside him. He fell asleep worried about his friend.

A/N: DC=113 Yeah, it's short. I'm sorry, but this is the best place to end. Next section will be up sooner I promise. I also apologize if I gave anyone nightmares about poor Shadi. What can I say, if I like 'em, I hurt 'em. Please note this does not apply to my deaths, as it's obvious I kill downright evil people, too. Ending Theme: Biohazard 4 Soundtrack- Garrador.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hey, everybody! I got a post up on time, yay! Just a quick shameless plug: Please, please check out my LiveJournal account linked in my profile. I'm updating that a little more now and putting up estimates of when updates are coming. Also, I have a rant on the recent Harry Potter movie, but it has spoilers. It's basically me bitching about what they changed. Usually it doesn't piss me off so much, but this really bothered me. Ok, let's hit it. Opening Theme: Creepy Doll by Jonathan Coulton.

"Talk"

'Thought'

"_Duel Monster Language"_

"_**The Dragon"**_

/Mind link/

Disclaimer: I'd be a better owner than 4Kids but they didn't give it to me.

The next day, Karim said he was going to look for Ishizu. He wanted to see if he could enlist her help and promised to return soon. Shadi agreed to the idea. He was alone in Karim's room.

Shadi laid in the boat, listening to the river. The peaceful sound was background noise to his thoughts. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the scars on Karim's back.

He was lost in his thoughts for some time before noticing the scene above him moving. He sat up. The boat was carrying him down river, passing doors along the way. The boat stopped in front of a door that was worn and scratched, but hidden compared to some of the others.

Shadi hesitated. Karim had hidden it on purpose, or tried to forget it. Shadi felt a twinge of guilt for snooping, but he needed to know if he was the cause of Karim's pain. He took a deep breath and exhaled it. Shadi grasped the handle and pushed.

A young Karim was forced to the floor and a group of men surrounded him. One used a whip to cut open his already bloodied back. The boy was thin and could only wince as the beating continued.

Shadi shut the door. Scenes continued to enter his mind. He saw Mahad's lookout, the final state of Karim, his illness, the secret room, and the return of Karim's father.

His legs started giving out. Shadi sat in the boat, 'What's all this? How do I know about that?'

The boat came back to its starting point, but Shadi just sat there. Tears formed in his eyes as he re-experienced emotions form years ago.

Meanwhile, Karim was getting increasingly frustrated. Ishizu was no where to be found in any of the towns near him. He sighed and began to consider his options.

A gruff voice interrupted his thoughts, _**"You might want to come back now." **_

'Why? What's wrong?'

_**"The boy saw one of your memories because he sat in your boat and thought about one thing."**_

__Karim frowned, 'What?'

_**"The scars on your back."**_

__Karim was speechless. Shadi saw one of the worst times in his life, the one memory he had tried to protect him from before. He eventually asked, 'Is he alright?'

_**"Would I have called you if he was? You really should be more careful about this crap. How have you survived all these years?"**_

__Karim managed a wry smile, 'Two powerful beings in my head keep me in line.'

He returned to see Shadi sobbing in the boat. Karim placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey." He climbed down in the boat. 'Should I ask him directly?'

Ma'at said, "No, let him tell you in his own way. It helped you to talk in your own time."

'Very true.' He turned his attention back to the sobbing boy, "What happened?" Shadi seemed to be struggling internally. Karim lifted the boy's chin so he could look at his face, "You can tell me anything, Shadi."

Shadi saw the concern in those emerald orbs. He told him everything about the trip and about the further visions. He ended with, "I don't understand. How can I see these things?"

Karim placed an arm around Shadi's shoulders, "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"Yeah. You think these are from some past life?"

"I don't think; I know. It happened to you once before, and I was afraid then. When you felt like something bad had happened, you remember?"

"Yeah, but how do you know?"

Karim quickly consulted Ma'at, 'Should I make him realize it by himself.'

"Now?"

'Yes. He needs to fully understand what he's seeing and... I owe him an explanation.'

"I know where you're going. Yes."

"Shadi, answer these questions, best you can," he thought for a second, "When's my birthday?"

"It'd be October 11th on the modern calendar," Shadi anwered with a minor hesitation.

"OK. Where were my parents born?" He knew this would be the clincher.

Shadi answered immediately, "Your father was Egyptian and your mother was Nubian," a small smile entered his face, "You got really pissed off when those women were sentenced to death by the Pharaoh and the Prince had to stop you from leaving. We were all scared you would leave." Then reality hit him. He hadn't known that until Karim asked, but he could see it clearly.

Karim nodded with a half-smile on his face, "Yeah, I remember. You knew me before. When we were both priests. I was hoping you wouldn't remember anything, or at least much, but as proven time and time again, I don't always get what I want."

"Why didn't you want me to remember?"

Karim smile grew, "You're so different. You aren't the same person. And I like it. I like you for being Shadi,for who you are now, not who you were." He quickly added, "Not that I didn't like you then. I did. I just like change."

Shadi laughed, "I get it. I guess it's the same thing with Ishizu."

"Yeah. Guess you saw her, too."

"You don't ignore my sister."

"Some things never change." Shadi laughed again. "I guess you feel better."

Shadi nodded, "Yeah." He laid his head on Karim's shoulder. He dozed off.

Karim sighed, 'He needs to learn to sleep better. Shouldn't let this stuff drive him crazy.'

Ma'at smiled, "Remind you of anyone?"

'Oh, a bit.' He smiled down at Shadi. 'I don't want him to go back to his room. It's not fair to him.'

"Karim, he has to. It's his mind and he needs to run it. He's stronger than he appears."

'He needs to be.' Karim gently carried Shadi to the bed.

Shadi returned to his room and slept there. Karim hated it and was always over. Shadi protested Karim spending so many nights, but Karim continued anyway, saying he didn't seem to mind after he was asleep.

---Fast Forward---

Shadi had turned twenty. Karim came over one day and saw Shadi still in bed. He came over and gasped. Shadi was pale.

"Shadi, what happened? Did they do this?"

Shadi's eyes slowly opened. Karim could still see the fighting spirit in his eyes. He strained his voice, "Yes."

"What's wrong?" Karim got closer to him.

"I can't move."

_**"They're using his energy to power themselves. Economical bastards."**_

__"Shadi, rest. Don't strain yourself."

The boy's eyes closed and he whisped, "Stay."

Karim nodded, "I'll stay. You get some sleep."

When he thought the boy was asleep he grabbed the boy's hand. 'Let's see if I remember how to do this.' He started flowing energy into Shadi. The boy suddenly snatched his hand back after a few moments. "Shadi, it's fine."

"No. Don't do that," he protested quietly.

"It'll help."

"No, not again," Shadi muttered, half asleep.

'Again? What again?'

Ma'at reminded him, "You gave energy to Shadah before you died."

'Oh, that again.' "OK, I won't. Please rest."

Shadi moved closer to Karim and fell asleep again. He nudged Karim every now and then, as if checking if he was still there.

The men tried to keep Shadi in that weakened state. One day, Karim noticed their power waning and Shadi was regaining strength. He went outside to check. As soon as he left, he saw they were in the sky. He looked around, 'We're on a fucking blimp! Why?' He then saw the KaibaCorp logo and the dueling field. 'It's a good thing I'm up-to-date.'

The duelists then arrived. Shadi's body was hidden. He watched the first duel, surprised to see the Puzzle and Ring, as well as the two spirits. The god card shocked him even more. 'That much power was never meant to be used in a simple card game.'

Then the man with the Rod showed up. 'Rishid.' He looked around and spotted a blonde boy, 'And that must be Marik.' The duel ended after the boy with the Ring was defeated. The body proceeded to visit Yugi, the boy with the Ring, and Ishizu. 'She can't see me yet.' Then he felt the power weaken enough.

/Hey, Shadi, you awake?/

/Yeah, and about to take over./

/Want to see your family?/

/They're here? All of them?/ he was excited.

/Yeah. They're in the middle of some tournament but after this set is done, we can meet them./

/That's great!/ Shadi managed to take over the body and avoid attention.

/Come on, let's go watch the duels. Stay quiet until then./

/OK./ He smiled. /Stay close to me, though. If I pass out, I want you to take over so they won't./

/Deal./

Karim made a mental note to see if Angelus was still around.

_**"What about the Pharaoh?" **_the dragon mocked.

'He remembers nothing and Egypt no longer has Pharaohs. Screw Atem, he's not the boss of me. But I might check out something in his room.'

_**"You're sounding like your old self again. Good to see you normal."**_

__"What do you mean?"

_**"You went soft and were totally loyal to him before you died. Looks like that boy has straightened you out after all."**_

__'Soft? Me? It was my idea to attack that fucking traitor. Besides, I've done what I want my whole life. Well, mostly. I bet that moron would believe his uncle's good at heart. He's always been so fucking gullible.'

_**"That's the spirit. There's the old Karim we know and love. Even the Goddess approves... as long as we behave her way."**_

__'Haven't gotten in trouble yet,' he smiled at them both. Then he turned his attention back to Rishid's duel. /Hey, a trap deck. I knew I liked your brother./

Shadi smirked, /Riiigghhht./ Then he frowned, /Why's he using Marik's name? Marik's over there./ He sighed. /Marik... you're up to something. Karim, do you know what?/

/Sorry, I don't. Let's keep watching./

The duel kept going. Rishid played the fake god. Karim felt a pang. He started silently praying for Rishid. The monster disappered and became something else, shooting lightning everywhere. Karim sighed, frustrated his prayer was unheeded.

Shadi gasped, "No!"

Karim held him back, "Don't interfere, or it'll strike you too." Shadi heard the pity in his face.

They watched as both players fell and Jounouchi eventually stood. Rishid stayed down. Marik was possessed.

'Hair spiked up. Bat-shit crazy. Well, that sounds familiar.'

Ma'at attempted to comfort, "Malik's not there. And I'm sorry about Rishid. The fragment had to be drawn out in order to be destroyed."

They waited until the duels were done. Shadi snuck down to room 8 and knocked. He heard movement toward the door. Ishizu stopped before the door and asked, "Who's there?"

/Hey, I could go through the door./

/Don't be an asshole./

'Wow, Shadi does have an attitude. I like it'

Shadi answered in French, "A pair of old friends." She threw open the door and clung to him. He was nearly a head taller than her, slightly taller than Marik.

Ishizu stepped back, "Come in, sit down. You look so tired."

Karim said, "I'll just continue to be ignored."

She smiled at him, "Don't be silly. I missed you too but I can't hug you."

Shadi told her about what he had experienced. Ishizu explained that she had moved to Cairo and worked in the government. She also told him about Marik's plan and where she'd seen Yami Marik before.

Shadi placed his hand over hers. He looked solemnly at her.

"What's wrong?" Ishizu asked.

He sighed, "Ishizu, I really don't know how much further they'll take this. I'm scared they won't stop until..."

"Don't talk that way," She said, holding his hand in both of hers.

"I have to face reality. That is what they ultimately want. If that happens, you'll need to take my items."

"Why?"

"So they can't get what they want."

Ishizu sighed, "I will. But please, no more of this."

Shadi smiled, "You're right. Please, show me Rishid's room. We should check on him."

She smiled, "Of course."

Shadi looked at Karim, "Can we be alone for a bit? Please?"

Karim nodded, "Sure. There's something I wanted to check out anyway." /Call me if you need me./

/I know./

He left and first went to room 6. The Ring was gone, so he figured Zorc would be away temporarily. He called out, "Angelus, are you here?"

The thief's astral form appeared. He looked like the boy asleep on the bed. "Temporary form, I take it?"

The man nodded, "I'm surprised you're still around."

"They wouldn't let me leave. So stronger, weaker or the same?"

"He's relatively the same. More pissy since the items are here but not with him."

"Still trying for revival."

"Exactly, but I can keep him from hurting Ryou," he gestured toward the boy, "so either he's weaker or I'm stronger."

"You like this boy?"

"He's a good kid. He doesn't deserve this."

"Neither did you."

The thief shrugged. "The ring is getting closer. You should go."

"OK, stay alive."

"You too."

Karim made another stop. He went in Atem's room and headed straight for the box where the deck was. He nearly dropped the box when he sensed how many captured monsters were inside. He started going through the cards.

They were in two piles, one the deck, the other spare. A few cards stood out to him. He found a copy of Curse of Dragon that was not a captured one. A Celtic Guardian that was captured, but he could still feel an unbreakable spirit.

Then he found what he was looking for. The Dark Magician was definitely Mahad, but he could tell the man had no memories. The other though, "Mana, can you come out?"

An astral form of the Dark Magician Girl appeared. "Karim? You're still here?"

"So are you."

"Ummm, yeah." She smiled.

"Mahad doesn't remember anything?"

She shook her head sadly, "Not even his own name."

"I wish I could help."

Mana smiled, "Don't worry. He'll come back."

"What about that Celtic Guardian?"

'Oh, he's nice. His name's Kier, but he is very resistant. Atem sometimes..."

Karim narrowed his eyes, "No, he wouldn't."

Mana frowned, "He does. He hurts him to make him obey."

Karim shot a disgusted glance at the sleeping figure.

Mana continued, "The poor guy is married and has a family looking for him."

Karim shook his head, "Too much has changed."

Mana agreed. "You should go. Sometimes Atem checks on us by projecting."

"Yeah, he wouldn't want me to get ahold of him. I'll see you again."

He returned to Shadi. The boy was tired and Karim took over. Then the men took control. "I have awful timing," Karim said to himself as he went to bed.

A/N: Ahh, a nice long one. And I didn't kill anybody. And I got main characters involved. Next time we head to the Memory World and Karim is back in action. The big plot is now working and more dominoes have fallen. Leave it to a Literature major to make metaphors at 1 AM. Until then, please check the my journal and happy reading. Feel free to leave comments here or at my journal. If I get questions I might just make a LJ post out of them. Closing them: The Siren by Nightwish.


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